Into the Light
by Tex-chan
Summary: Badly injured while protecting his companions from a magical creature the Heavenly Ones sealed away centuries ago, Orphen has no choice but to call on Childman for assistance and protection. Will his former master come to his aid?
1. Chapter 1

CHAPTER 1 

**_Note:_** I do not use the long, Japanese spells that Orphen utters during the anime --- mainly because I'm not confident of getting them exactly correct. So, I've decided to err on the side of caution and use simple, short, mostly one-word "spells". I hope that won't put anyone off or detract from the story too much. _~Tex-chan_

"Um I don't know about this, Master. Do you really think it's such a good idea to go in there?" Majic asked, hesitantly.

"What do you mean?" Orphen replied, giving Majic a strange look. "Of course, it's okay to go in there. We need to get across these mountains to find information on whatever the hell it is we need to complete the Sword of Baltanders. Going over is too dangerous, because there's a storm coming. Anyhow, going over would take too long. So, going through this tunnel-pass is our only choice. Frankly, you should be thankful there **is** a tunnel. I wouldn't think you'd want to haul Cleao's heavy pack over." 

"Wait just a minute, you sorcerer-weasel! What do you mean "Cleao's pack"? That's OUR stuff in there --- stuff that we ALL use," Cleao snapped angrily as she walked up behind Orphen and Majic. The sudden sound of her voice made Majic jump slightly. She laughed and thumped him on the back, "So, what's your problem, apprentice boy? Why so jumpy?"

Majic laughed nervously and scratched his head. He was afraid of making Orphen mad. The young sorcerer could be pretty frightening when he was angry, a fact that Majic knew better than anyone else. After traveling with Orphen for several months, he was intimately acquainted with all of his master's moods, and he knew all too well that they could change faster than the weather. Still, the tunnel they were standing in front of looked foreboding and dark. The cave's opening looked like the mouth of some giant beast that was just waiting to swallow them up, and the thought of going in there gave him the creeps. He couldn't put his finger on it, but something kept telling him that they shouldn't go in there.

Majic cleared his throat nervously and sucked up the courage to argue with his master. "Um well, yeah I mean " He cleared his throat again and shifted his weight nervously from one foot to the other, all the while keeping his eyes firmly fixed on the ground in front of him.

"Majic!" Orphen snapped. With one lightening quick motion, he grabbed Majic by the front of his shirt and shook the boy hard enough to make his teeth click together. "I don't have all damn day here to convince you! Just spit it out, for crying out loud!"

"O .OK ." Majic replied hesitantly, "OK Master. Could you stop shaking me?"

Orphen stopped shaking him, but didn't release his hold on Majic's shirt. "Well?" he snapped. "I'm waiting!"

"Well it's just it looks really dark in there, you know? And isn't the tunnel really long and well, dark? Won't it take a long time to get through to the other side? And don't creepy things live in the dark?"

"You know, Fearless Leader," Cleao chimed in as she stepped slightly between Orphen and Majic and gently pried the young sorcerer's hands off of Majic's shirt, "not that I'm ever really that into agreeing with your sorcerer wanna-be here, but Majic has a point. It does look really dark and creepy in there. Isn't it possible that it's a better idea to go over the mountain than through it?"

"Shit!" Orphen exclaimed, throwing his hands up in the air. "I give up! Okay, look," he snapped, placing one hand on Cleao's shoulder, his other hand on Majic's, and turning them both around so that they were facing the direction from which they had just come, "Do you see that?" He pointed in the direction they were now facing, indicating a huge, black cloud hovering over the immediate area. "I don't suppose either of you know what that is, do you?" he asked sarcastically. He looked from one blank face to the other before continuing, "No? Well. Then, I'll tell you. That is a storm cloud and in a couple of hours it's gonna drop about a foot of rain, or maybe snow --- it's kinda hard to tell this time of year --- right on top of that mountain. Get the picture?"

Majic looked blankly at Orphen. He could see the anger growing in the young sorcerer's eyes, but he couldn't help it. He couldn't shake the feeling of fear that overwhelmed him at the thought of entering that black, cavernous maw, and he most adamantly did not want to go in there. "Bbut Master," he stammered weakly.

"FORGET IT!" Orphen screamed. He whirled around and began to walk swiftly away from Majic and Cleao, and toward the tunnel entrance.

"Hey!" Cleao yelled at his retreating back. "Where the hell do you think you're going! Hey! Do you hear me? Don't you dare ignore me, ORPHEN!"

Orphen paused, without turning around, and raised one hand over his shoulder to wave at his two traveling companions. "I don't have any more time to waste trying to convince the two of you to go through the damn tunnel. Go over the mountain, if you want. I'll miss you --- really," he said sarcastically as he, once again, began to walk toward the entrance.

Cleao and Majic stared at each other in stunned silence for a moment. As the first few big, fat raindrops splattered to the ground around them, Cleao whirled away from the younger boy and walked swiftly toward the dark, gaping hole that had swallowed Orphen only seconds earlier.

When Majic called out to her, she replied, "Sorry, Majic. I'd like to stick with you on this one, but there's no way I'm climbing over that mountain in a storm with just you." She stopped and turned to face the boy, her hands on her hips. "Get real! I mean, you can't even make fire! I'll take my chances in the creepy dark with the real sorcerer, even if he is in a pissy mood. So, um good luck with your climb, OK?"

Majic stood and silently watched as Cleao also disappeared into the tunnel's cavernous opening. He looked up into the sky, and as another huge raindrop hit him squarely in the eye, he muttered, "What did I ever do? Would it be so hard to back me up --- just one time?" He sighed and shifted his heavy pack to a more comfortable position as he slowly walked forward into the tunnel. As the darkness swallowed him, he muttered, "It's not like fire's such an easy spell, you know." 

"HEY!" Majic yelled as he entered the tunnel to find himself standing in a huge, deserted cavern. "HEY! MASTER, WAIT FOR ME!"

Laughter floated out of the darkness near him and made Majic jump slightly. "Stop yelling, Majic," Orphen said as he stepped forward and, still chuckling, gently ruffled the boy's soft, blonde hair. "What took 'ya so long?"

"Ha, ha. Very funny, Master," Majic replied as he slapped Orphen's hand away. "Thanks for waiting for me," he mumbled.

Orphen gripped the boy's shoulder slightly and gently pulled Majic backward until the boy was leaning lightly against his chest. "You don't really think I'd leave you, not with a storm coming, do you?"

His voice sounded so genuinely hurt that Majic turned around to look at his master. He was shocked to see hurt and surprise in the young sorcerer's eyes, and he felt a little guilty. There weren't too many people who could really hurt his master's feelings, and Majic suddenly wanted Orphen's normal, cocky attitude back. He smiled and replied, "Oh, Master. I know."

"Good," Orphen said. He smiled and roughly tousled Majic's hair as he shoved the boy forward. "Now, get moving. We've already wasted too much time." As Majic walked in front of Orphen to follow Cleao through the dark, the young sorcerer commented, "Look at it this way, Majic. All this darkness will give you a good chance to practice your fire spell."

"THAT IS NOT AN EASY SPELL!" Majic yelled as Orphen's laughter floated through the blackness behind him. 

****


	2. Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2 

They had been walking silently through the dark tunnel for about twenty minutes when Cleao finally called out, "Are we there yet?"

Majic heard Orphen's soft, humorless chuckle in the darkness behind him, as the young sorcerer replied, in a sarcastic, mocking tone, "I can't believe it took you this long, Cleao. Are you feeling OK?"

"Ha, ha!" Cleao snapped in the same, mocking tone employed by the sorcerer. "You're so funny in the dark, Orphen. Oh, by the way, did I forget to point out that it is DARK in here?" When neither Orphen nor Majic replied, she continued, "How long is it gonna take to get through here, anyhow?"

Majic stopped walking as he heard Orphen's footsteps slow and then halt. "Master?" he asked as he tried unsuccessfully to peer into the darkness behind him. He felt frustration wash over him as he realized it was useless trying to see more than a few inches in front of his face. It was just too dark. When Orphen didn't respond, Majic felt frustration quickly giving way to fear. He called again, panic edging into his voice, "Master? Are you OK? Is something wrong?"

Majic jumped when he felt Orphen's hand on his shoulder. "Sorry, Majic," he said, "didn't mean to startle you. Everything's fine. I was just thinking"

Cleao's voice floated out of the darkness in front of them once again as she called, "So?"

"Well," Orphen replied hesitantly, "um, probably two maybe three days."

"WHAT?!" Cleao screamed.

Majic was surprised to feel Orphen's hand, which still rested on his shoulder, involuntarily tense, and he heard the older boy duck, as if Orphen intended to escape Cleao's wrath. He chuckled to himself. Cleao was probably the only person he knew who could make his master tremble in fear. He knew that Orphen tried to hide things from the girl because he hated suffering the consequences when Cleao was unhappy or dissatisfied. And, there were always consequences.

"Two or three days IN THE DARK?" Cleao screamed back. "You leather-wrapped magic toady! You'd better PRAY that I don't make it out of here, or you're gonna be SORRY! I mean it! Tricking me into coming in here"

"L look, Cleao," Orphen stammered as he involuntarily backed away from the girl's angry tirade. He grunted as he tripped and fell over a loose rock in the pathway. "Shit, that hurt! It'll probably leave a mark," he muttered. "Look, Cleao, it doesn't have to be that way, OK?" He could hear Cleao's angry muttering moving closer and closer to him in the dark, and, in a panic, he called out, "Light!"

A perfect ball of light formed over Orphen's open palm, illuminating a radius of several feet around the trio. Majic laughed when he saw his master. Orphen had tripped and fallen over a large rock in the middle of the path, and he was in a sitting position, with a slightly panicked look on his face. It was clear that the young sorcerer was afraid of making their female companion angry.

"Master, are you OK?" Majic asked as he tried unsuccessfully to stifle a giggle. He held out his hand, silently offering to help Orphen stand. The young sorcerer glared at him, but he took Majic's hand and pulled himself into a standing position while still balancing the light ball over his open palm.

"Well, isn't that just dandy?" Cleao snapped as she stepped forward to inspect the results of Orphen's light spell. "That's just great if we only want to see a few feet at a time. I thought you were the most powerful sorcerer from the Tower of Fang," she said sarcastically, "and that's the best you can do?" She stopped a few steps away from Orphen, with her hands on her hips, and looked at him angrily. "Well?"

Orphen leaned forward until his face was only inches from Cleao's. Even in the dim light, Majic could clearly see the blush that spread across her face, and she quickly stepped back to put a small space between herself and the young sorcerer.

"Don't get your panties in a wad, OK? Watch this," Orphen said quietly. He blew the light ball up off of his palm, and it floated in the air in front of him for a second as he whispered, "Illuminate." At his command, the ball traveled straight up, divided into three smaller balls, and shot into the ceiling and walls surrounding them. Immediately, the tunnel exploded into thousands of twinkling, sparkling lights, enabling the three companions to see clearly.

"It's beautiful," Cleao sighed as she watched the lights sparkle and twinkle all around them. "It's so beautiful."

Majic sighed and nodded in agreement. During the time he and Cleao had traveled with Orphen, the sorcerer had shown them a lot of amazing things, but this one had to be near the top of that list. "Master, it really is beautiful. But, how"

Orphen shrugged and moved toward the cave's wall. He gently plucked a glowing stone from the wall and held it up in front of his face. "Phosphorous," he replied. When Majic and Cleao just stared at him blankly, he shook his head, "Geez. Did you two even GO to school? I mean, I can understand the shopping queen over there, but, really, Majic, I have to admit I'm disappointed in you." When they still didn't reply, he said, "It glows."

Yeah, I know that, Master. But, how did you know?"

Orphen shrugged again and gestured toward the tunnel's walls and ceiling. "This isn't just a tunnel. It's a series of caverns, too, and a lot of them contain magical ruins and relics left behind by the Heavenly Ones. A lot of people believe that the Heavenly Ones actually built this passage through the mountain."

"Do you think that's true?" Majic asked.

"Who knows?" Orphen replied. "The tunnel sure is a lot more advanced than anyone around here could build, so I guess it's possible. At any rate, no one really knows that much about it, but I learned about the tunnel and its caverns at the Tower of Fang. There are some caverns that no one has ever been in, so no one knows what might be in them."

"So, why did you let me hang around at the entrance being scared if you already knew about the tunnel?" Majic asked. "You must have already known it was fairly safe and that we wouldn't have to stumble around in the dark the whole time."

Orphen ruffled Majic's hair as he walked past the boy. "You need to learn to have faith in your Master, Majic and in yourself," he replied, "no matter what the situation."

As he moved past Cleao to continue onward into the glowing tunnel, the girl reached out and grabbed Orphen's leather jacket. "Wait just a darn minute! If you knew all about this phos-whatever glowing thing, why did you make us walk all that way in the dark?"

Orphen gently placed his hand against the girl's cheek, surprising her enough that she released her hold on his clothes. "Oh, that was just for fun," he said, laughing. As Cleao lunged forward to slug him, he whispered, "Away", and disappeared in the midst of several flickering, blue-green lights.

"Don't think you can just disappear like that, you weasely wizard!" Cleao screamed into the now-empty air. "You're gonna be sorry when I catch up to you!" At first, Majic felt sorry for his master, but, when he looked over at Cleao, he could see that the girl was smiling, indicating that Orphen really had very little to fear.

"Well?" Cleao snapped, turning her attention from Orphen's disappearance to Majic. She speared him with an angry look, and Majic involuntarily took a step away from her.

"Well, what?" he asked nervously.

Cleao gave him a disgusted sigh and rolled her eyes. "What are we going to do now that Orphen's taken a powder? Wait around for him to decide to reappear?"

Majic laughed and shook his head as he walked past Cleao and took her hand to pull her along behind him. "No," he replied, "if I know Master, he's not going to come back until you've had a chance to calm down a little. Let's just keep going forward. He'll show up again, eventually."

"I swear!" Cleao snapped as she fell into step behind Majic. "He is SO irresponsible! Why in the world do you insist on hanging around with him?"

Majic laughed again and responded, "Looks like you should ask yourself that same question. Just be happy he left the light for us."

************************************************************

After they had been walking through the glowing tunnel for about thirty minutes with no sign of Orphen, Cleao pulled Majic to a stop, and, stomping her foot, called out, "All right! Enough! I'm not mad anymore, so you can come out now! ORPHEN!"

She and Majic looked around expectantly, as if they expected Orphen to appear out of one of the walls near them. Well, anything was possible, considering that they were alone because their traveling companion had disappeared into thin air, in the first place. They stood there, waiting for the sorcerer's reappearance for about twenty minutes, with no sign of him. Majic shuffled his feet nervously. He didn't want to admit it, but his master's prolonged absence was beginning to make him a little nervous.

"Cleao, do you think we should go look for him? I mean, something could have happened."

Yeah, right," Cleao muttered under her breath, "we should be so lucky."

Majic glanced over at the girl. Cleao was trying to act as if she were angry, but he could see the worried look on her face and the nervous way she kept glancing around the tunnel. He knew that she was just as worried as he was. Just as he was about to again suggest that they should go look for Orphen, Majic heard his master's voice calling them. He looked in the direction of Orphen's voice and watched as the young sorcerer appeared farther down the tunnel in the middle of several shimmering balls of light.

"Come on, guys!" Orphen called as he waved Majic and Cleao forward. "What are you doing standing around like that?"

Cleao glared at him and stomped her foot as she yelled, "Where the hell have you been?"

Orphen gave her a blank look. "What did I do now?" he asked, looking at Majic.

Cleao cut Majic off before he could reply. "How can you stand there and look so innocent! You know darn good and well what you did!" she snapped as she stomped toward Orphen, grabbing Majic's hand and pulling him along behind her.

"I was just looking for a place to camp," Orphen protested as his two companions stopped beside him. He shrugged and pointed behind him and toward the right. "There's a cavern over there that looks pretty safe --- no wierded-out magical ruins or strange, scary sorcerer left-behinds, at least. I mean, I'm kinda tired, so I thought you guys might be ready to stop, too," he said as he gave Majic another puzzled look.

"We were calling you!" Cleao yelled.

"I wasn't even here, Cleao," Orphen responded. "I didn't hear you. I'm a sorcerer, not a psychic," he mumbled as Cleao brushed past him to enter the cavern he had indicated as a possible camping spot. 

"She was just worried about you, Master," Majic said softly.

"Yeah, I can really tell," Orphen mumbled.

He turned as he heard Cleao call out, "OK! This will do! We can camp here tonight!"

Orphen rolled his eyes and looked up at the ceiling. "What a relief! Looks like Her Highness is satisfied, at least for now."

"I HEARD THAT!" Cleao screamed from inside the cavern.

Majic laughed as Orphen sighed heavily and shook his head. "Come on, Master," he said, grabbing Orphen's hand and leading him into the room.

********************************************************************

"Look, guys, I don't think it's such a good idea to be in here," Orphen said as he fidgeted nervously at the cavern's entrance. "Just hurry up, get the water you need to make dinner, and let's go, OK?"

Orphen couldn't figure out why this particular room made him so nervous. When Cleao had announced that they needed some water to cook dinner, the three of them had begun to look for a nearby water source. At first, Cleao had intended to go alone, but Orphen had insisted that they stay together, commenting that the caverns were like a maze, and it was a bad idea for them to separate. There were hundreds of caverns connected to the mountain tunnel, and the three companions had looked into or explored at least a dozen before Cleao announced that she heard the sound of running water coming from the cavern in whose entrance Orphen currently stood. The other caverns had been filled with varying kinds of ruins and relics, all covered with sorcerous runes, and he had been able to feel strong magical power emanating from each of them. This particular cavern, at first observation, seemed completely innocuous. There was a fairly large lake, which was fed by water that ran down the cavern's walls, in the middle of the cave-like room. The lake, which almost looked like a swimming pool, took up most of the floor space, and there was only a small bank of stone, about a foot wide, surrounding it. The cavern, apparently, contained no magical ruins or relics, and he couldn't really feel any power coming from it at all. But, where none of the other caverns had made him feel at all uneasy, this one --- this one made his skin crawl. 

Cleao laughed as she dipped one of the cooking pots into the lake. She was enjoying Orphen's discomfort, and had decided to take her time gathering the water they needed so that she could watch him squirm and fidget a little longer. She looked over her shoulder at Orphen and said, "What's your problem, magic man? Getting impatient for your dinner?"

"Shut up, Cleao!" Orphen snapped. "If you're sitting there yapping, you can't be gathering water, and we need to get out of here."

Cleao jumped at the harshness in Orphen's voice. "Geez. Give me a break. I'm going as fast as I can, OK?" she replied.

Orphen took a step into the cavern and yelled, "NO YOU'RE NOT! YOU'RE GOING AS SLOWLY AS POSSIBLE JUST TO PISS ME OFF! I'm not kidding, Cleao. This cavern makes my skin crawl, and if there's something in here that can make me feel like that well, you know it must be something really scary. So, hurry up so we can get the hell out of here!"

Majic and Cleao looked at each other in surprise. Neither of them had ever seen the young sorcerer behave this way. He appeared to be genuinely frightened, and that fact scared Majic more than anything else he had ever experienced. "Cleao," he whispered, "He's right, OK? I think he's really scared, and I don't really want to meet up with anything that can make him act like this. So, stop giving him such a hard time, and let's just hurry up and get the water. Here, I'll help you." He took one of the empty containers that were sitting on the ground between him and Cleao, and dipped it into the lake.

The moment Majic's hand broke the lake's surface, the placid water started to bubble. It bubbled faster and faster until it looked like it was boiling, and the surface broke up into hundreds of small waves covered with caps of white foam. Majic froze in shock, his hand just below the water's surface. He looked over at Cleao, and she also seemed frozen in place, transfixed by the water's sudden transformation. Even Orphen came into the cavern to stand just behind Majic and Cleao and stare at the water. An eerie silence fell over the cave, broken only by the sound of waves slapping against the lake's rock bank. Majic could see down into the water, and he saw a dark shape swiftly approaching the surface directly in front of him.

Orphen grabbed Majic's collar and Cleao's shoulder, and pulled both of them back, away from the pool's edge, as a sleek, dark head broke the water's surface, followed by another and then another. The three heads rose up from the water until they almost touched the cavern's ceiling, towering over Majic, Cleao, and Orphen. Orphen pulled Majic and Cleao back again, until he was standing between them and the huge creature regarding them from the lake.

"Master," Majic whispered, "what?"

"I don't know, Majic," Orphen responded through clenched teeth, turning his head slightly to look back at his apprentice. "I don't know what to expect. Just be ready to move both of you."

He quickly turned his attention back to the creature rising from the lake in front of him. He couldn't see the beast's body, but he knew it had to be huge. Judging from the size of the three heads he could see above the water, he figured the creature's body probably took up most of the lake. Despite the presence of multiple heads, he could tell that there was only one creature, because he could see, just below the water's surface, the point where the three necks joined into one body. He had never seen or heard of such a beast, and, as he stared up into three sets of cold, hard, reptilian eyes, Orphen felt his blood run cold. Although he couldn't feel any magical power emanating from this creature, he sensed something dark and evil about it. The middle head was the largest of the three, but even the two smaller heads flanking it were easily at least six feet long. The heads were covered with shiny black scales, and, in the glow from the shining phosphorous rocks on the cavern's walls, they seemed to sparkle and shimmer, changing from black, to iridescent green, to a glowing blue, and then back to black. Each head was fairly triangular in shape, and they rose above the water on graceful, slender necks. There was a ridge of spiky white bone on the top of each head, which ran halfway down each one of the creature's faces, between its eyes. The bone ridges looked vaguely like crowns, and accented the beast's huge eyes, which were definitely reptilian. They glowed red in the illumination given off from the cavern's walls, and the pupils looked like black slits. Orphen could see huge, white fangs hanging out of the mouth of each head, like ivory daggers. Slowly, the mouth on the creature's middle head opened in a lazy yawn, revealing three rows of razor-sharp teeth, and a long, black, forked tongue, which flopped out of the mouth as it closed. It almost looked like the beast was smiling as it tilted its middle head to one side and stared at them with unblinking eyes.

"So," the creature hissed slowly. Its voice sounded like metal being dragged over jagged rocks, and shook the cavern's walls. "The little one. He was the one who broke my seal, yes?" It lowered its middle head slightly and appeared to smile again, as it looked past Orphen at Majic, and said, "Yes. I can tell. I can feel power from him, power he hasn't touched yet, power he doesn't even realize. Yes. He broke the seal. My thanks to you, little one. Yes. Thanks."

The creature's steady, unblinking gaze lingered on Majic for a moment, and the boy felt the little hairs on his arms and the back of his neck stand up at the unwanted attention. Slowly, though, it turned its head toward Orphen, and Majic could see its eyes start to glow greedily as the middle head drifted downward until the creature and Orphen were almost eye-to-eye. Majic was shocked to see that his master was trembling, and Orphen's fists were clenched so tightly that Majic could see the network of blue veins just beneath the skin peering out from the sorcerer's gloves. As the head drifted closer to him, Orphen stepped backward, almost tripping over Majic, before he realized that he couldn't back any farther away from the creature.

"Who are you? What are you doing here?" Orphen demanded. He was trying to control the shaking in his voice and to sound angry and demanding, but Majic could hear the undertone of fear. It was something he couldn't ever remember hearing, no matter what kind of enemies they had faced, and that sound ---- that little tremble in Orphen's voice ---- scared Majic a lot more than the creature in the middle of this lake.

The creature laughed softly, a bone-chilling sound that sounded like rattling chains or a dungeon door slamming, and replied, "Morph. I am Morph. I was sealed here. Yes. They stole my power and sealed me here. For a hundred years. Yes. I slept here. Until the little one broke the seal with his power." The middle head dipped even closer to Orphen, and the creature inhaled deeply. "I need power. Yes. Lots of power to escape this place. The little one his power enough to break the seal. But you yes you are a sorcerer. Your power. Yes. It would take me away from here. Yes. If I take you your power would feed me for years." The creature lowered its head until it was looking directly into Orphen's eyes. Its long, forked tongue drifted out of its mouth and leisurely traveled from Orphen's feet, up his body, and over his face in a slow, possessive, almost loving, caress. "Yes. The little one I'll leave him, but you I'll take you instead. Yes. You are mine now."

Orphen tried to back away as the creature's tongue licked him, but he discovered he couldn't move. His body was paralyzed, held in place like stone by some unknown force. He knew he was powerless, helpless, and that he would be unable to prevent the creature from doing as it wanted with him. He quickly decided that his only option was to salvage what he could from the situation and at least save Majic and Cleao. "Will you let them go?" he asked the creature.

Morph dipped his middle head in an elegant, graceful motion that appeared to be something between a nod and a bow. "Yes," he replied. "As my gift to you. I will not touch them."

Majic felt his blood run cold as Orphen snapped, "Majic, Cleao, go now. Get the hell out of here right now."

Majic scrambled to his feet and grabbed Orphen's arm, which was as cold as ice. "Master! No! Not this time! We're not leaving without you!"

Orphen, without ever looking away from Morph, replied, "I'll catch up to you, Majic. I promise."

Cleao, who was still sitting in the same position she had landed in when Orphen had jerked her away from the lake, jumped to her feet and yelled, "Stop lying, Orphen! What does it mean, what that thing said? He said he would take you, didn't he? You're trading yourself for us. Well, no deal! We're not leaving until you come with us!"

Orphen slowly turned his head to look at Majic and Cleao. They were both shocked and terrified when they saw the haunted, defeated look in his eyes and heard the hollowness of his voice. "I'm sorry, Cleao," he said, "I can't go with you now. I can't even move, and just talking is taking all the strength I have. At least I'll know you're safe." He cast a pleading look toward Majic, and said, "Please, Majic. Please."

Majic could hear the fear and exhaustion in his master's voice, and he felt tears come into his eyes as he nodded and replied, "O OK, Master." He looked at Cleao, and softly said, "Cleao, let's go."

Cleao looked from Orphen to Majic. Majic could see tears shining in her eyes, mirroring those that he felt spilling down his own face. She shook her head. "No. I'm not going. I'm not leaving you, Orphen."

Morph laughed softly, and the noise managed to tear Cleao and Majic's attention from Orphen and back to the lake. Involuntarily, they stepped backward as the creature's long, black, forked tongue snaked out of its mouth, wrapped around Orphen, and lifted him off of the ground. Almost instantly, the young sorcerer began to scream in pain, and, over the sound of his screams echoing off of the cavern's stone walls and floor, they heard Morph's silky laughter.

Majic felt rage building up inside of him, and he clenched his fists tightly at his sides. He could feel his magical power building along with his rage, and he knew that, if he tried, he could unleash a magical blast that would be strong enough to make the beast release Orphen. He began to concentrate so that he could focus his power. Just as he was about to release his attack against the beast, he heard Orphen's words from earlier that day echoing in his mind, "You need to learn to have faith in your Master, Majic". He looked up to see Orphen watching him with pain-filled eyes, and he nodded to show that he understood.

He took Cleao's hand and said, his voice firm, "No, Cleao. We're leaving. We have to trust him." He looked at Orphen once more and then turned to leave the cavern, dragging a sobbing Cleao behind him.

****


	3. Chapter 3

CHAPTER 3 

The pain coursing through his body was unlike anything else Orphen had ever felt. It was like he was on fire. Morph's tongue felt like hot metal bands wrapped around him, and he could feel it constricting tighter and tighter, cutting off his breath, as the beast laughed and lifted him off the ground and into the air. He could feel his magical power flowing swiftly out of his body, leaving him weak, helpless, and completely at the mercy of this hideous creature. As Morph's tongue tightened its crushing grip on him, the searing pain intensified, and Orphen small, white bursts of light seemed to explode in his mind and in front of his eyes. He could feel darkness creeping in on him, and he desperately fought against it. If he lost consciousness now, he knew his life would be over within minutes.

'Come on, Orphen,' he thought desperately. 'Think, man! Think! There has to be a way out of this. And, you've gotta act fast, while you still have some power left.'

He knew Morph survived by feeding off of magic, which meant that, although it was physically strong, it didn't have any magical power of its own, and, judging from the fact that the beast was crushing him to death as it sucked up his power, Orphen guessed that Morph probably didn't have the ability to actually use the magic it stole. The young sorcerer figured that this fact worked in his favor. He could still destroy the creature using magic, as long as he was careful in his attack. He had never heard of this beast, and he figured that put him at a serious disadvantage, since he knew nothing of its habits. But, he could sense an unspeakable evil emanating from Morph, and he could guess at why the Heavenly Ones had sealed him here. He had a feeling that, once Morph was fully strengthened from his power, it would free itself from the maze of caverns connected to the mountain tunnel and go on a rampage, destroying everything and killing everyone in its path. Most importantly, Orphen knew that Morph would never leave Majic alive. The creature had already recognized the boy's power, just as Orphen had, and the young sorcerer knew that his apprentice would be too much of a prize for this evil creature to pass up.

'That settles it, then, magic man,' Orphen told himself as he continued to fight off the pain and darkness that loomed ever closer. 'I have to stop him here. There are no other options.'

He continued to struggle desperately against Morph's tongue, which continued to constrict around his body, and finally, he managed to free his left hand and arm. Morph didn't even notice. The beast was too engrossed in its meal, and too certain of its victory to pay attention to its prey. After he had freed his arm, Orphen closed his eyes, blocked out all of the fear and pain, and slowly began to gather the magical power he still possessed. Slowly, very slowly, he gathered and focused it until he formed it into a glowing, blue-green light staff. He summoned up his remaining physical strength and swung the staff upward, toward the only target within his view --- a huge, red eye.

The light staff cut directly through Morph's tough, scaly hide. It made a hissing sound as it sliced through the beast's skin, and the smell of blood and burning flesh filled the room as Orphen's staff cut the eye in two. Morph tossed its head wildly in an attempt to escape the pain from the wounded eye. It screamed and thrashed around madly, flinging Orphen roughly from side to side. In a rage, it threw Orphen aside, and the young sorcerer, suddenly free, flew through the air and crashed into the cavern wall farthest from the entrance. He could feel and hear his right shoulder and ribs breaking as he hit the hard rock wall. He slid down the rock face and landed heavily on the lake's bank. He lay there for a few moments, panting, and watching Morph with satisfaction. The huge beast was still screaming, and its body was thrashing from side to side. Orphen could see rolls and rolls of dark coils moving above the water's surface and then down again as the creature moved and struggled. Its thrashing pushed most of the lake's water out of the basin that had held it. The water splashed out of the lake in huge waves, crashing over the cavern's walls and the narrow rock bank around the lake and soaking everything within reach, including Orphen.

As the young sorcerer pulled himself to his feet and stood on trembling legs, Morph stopped thrashing around and turned its three heads to face Orphen. The beast tilted its middle head slightly to the side, and snarled in anger at its prey. One side of that face was almost completely gone as a result of Orphen's attack. The flesh was still burning, and Orphen could see bone under the jagged pieces of muscle and skin that clung to Morph's skull. The beast's eye was completely gone, and blood poured from the creature's wounds and into the lake, turning the water a dark red. Morph snarled at Orphen again, and the middle head's tongue snaked out of its mouth to lick away the blood streaming down its face. The heads on either side of the middle one slowly wrapped themselves around the neck and face of the middle head, and, before Orphen's eyes, they began to change shape and meld together, reforming into a single, undamaged head.

'Guess that's why he's called "Morph",' Orphen thought as he prepared himself for his next move.

Orphen knew he had to attack before Morph finished its transformation. His strength was failing quickly, and he knew that he wouldn't be able to harm Morph again once it had healed itself. Yelling, Orphen leaped through the air toward Morph's head, swinging the light staff with all of his remaining strength. The staff connected solidly with Morph's neck, just below its head, and began to burn its way through. Even though it hadn't completed its transformation, Morph managed to meet Orphen's attack, and the young sorcerer felt the beast's fangs pierce his shoulder and side. He could feel something flowing into his body from the fangs, and realized that Morph was injecting him with some kind of venom. He could feel the poison entering his body; it made him dizzy and sick to his stomach. But, Orphen knew he couldn't stop. He knew this was his final attack, and he poured all of the strength and magical power he had left into making the staff cut through his target. Orphen pictured this hideous beast killing Majic by draining the boy's power and then killing Cleao, and he used his rage to give himself strength. He yelled and swung the staff one last time, finally managing to completely cut through Morph's neck, severing its head.

Morph didn't even have time to scream as its head separated from its body. The head flew through the air and landed on the lake's rock bank near the cavern's entrance, taking Orphen, who was still impaled on its fangs, with it. The young sorcerer and skull both landed, hard, on the rock floor. The impact split the skull in two and ripped the fangs from Orphen's shoulder and side, leaving gaping, bloody wounds. Morph's headless body thrashed from side to side, covering the bank and Orphen with the rest of the bloody water that had been left in the lake. Suddenly, the beast's body and skull both burst into fire and were completely consumed by the flames. Once the fire finally burned itself out, nothing was left of the creature --- not even bones --- and Orphen was alone in a cold, dark, empty cavern. He was drenched, both with water and with blood, and he felt too sick, weak, and hurt to even stand. Slowly, painfully, he rolled over onto his back and let darkness engulf him like a shroud.

***********************************************************

Majic had dragged Cleao out of Morph's cavern and back into the chamber where they had previously decided to camp. Cleao had struggled the whole way to break free from Majic, but the boy was surprisingly strong. His grip on her wrist had been like iron, and she had been unable to break it. The light from the glowing rocks in the tunnel walls and ceiling was beginning to fade. But, even in the dim light, Majic could see a dark bruise around Cleao's wrist, where his hand had been, and he felt guilt stealing over him.

"Cleao," he began, hesitantly, "I I'm sorry about your wrist. I didn't mean to hurt you, but"

His voice trailed off as Cleao glared angrily at him. Majic couldn't help but feel an irrational wave of fear as he squirmed under her angry stare. He had never seen the girl this angry.

She turned her back on him, facing the opposite wall, and snapped, "I can't believe you, Majic. I can't believe you could just walk out of there. That you could just leave him like that. I'll never forgive you, if he doesn't come back. I mean it." Her angry voice dissolved into tears, as she said, "I'll never forgive either one of you."

Majic rose and walked over to Cleao. He knelt in front of her and placed his hand under her chin, lifting her head so that she was forced to look into his eyes. "We have to believe in him, Cleao."

She nodded and dried her tears. "Well," she said, standing up and wiping her hands on her skirt, "I'm sure he'll be hungry when he comes back, right? So, why don't I start dinner --- if you think you can make fire, that is!"

She laughed as Majic protested, "Fire is not an easy spell!"

*************************************************************

Orphen groaned as he regained consciousness. Every muscle and bone in his body hurt, and his broken shoulder and ribs ached with a dull, constant throb. He was freezing cold, weak, exhausted, and sick to his stomach. 'Probably from the poison, and from losing so much power' he thought. He could feel the poison slowly traveling through his body, and it felt as if it was eating away at him from the inside. He had hoped that his power would return with Morph's death, but that hadn't happened. It seemed that his power had created the fire that had consumed the beast, which meant that it had burned away with Morph, and, now, he didn't have enough power or strength left to heal himself.

He rolled slowly onto his side, trying to protect his injured right shoulder and ribs, and pushed himself up off of the floor and into a standing position. He felt a wave of dizziness wash over him, and he clutched at the wall to keep from falling. 'Shit,' he thought as he gently shook his head to clear it, 'if I'm gonna die, it's not going to be in here.' He pushed himself away from the wall and slowly, painfully staggered out of the cavern and into the tunnel. The light that had, earlier, illuminated the dark caverns had faded away, and the tunnel was almost completely black. He couldn't remember which direction he had to go in order to find Majic and Cleao. He remembered finding the cavern where he had earlier suggested they should camp, and he was certain that his companions would have returned there. But, he just couldn't remember where it was, and he felt completely disoriented in the dark. As he stood there, leaning against the wall and wondering which way he should go, a breeze came through the tunnel, carrying the unmistakable smell of Cleao's specialty stew. 'Lucky me,' he thought, laughing softly, and, using the wall for support, he slowly staggered down the corridor, following the smell to where his friends would be.

*************************************************************

"I have to admit, Majic," Cleao said, looking around the cavern as she stirred the large pot of stew, "I'm pretty impressed. I mean, here I didn't even think you could make fire." She laughed as Majic stuck his tongue out at her.

Not only had Majic managed to make a fire, he had also managed to copy Orphen's illumination spell, and, even though it was not as bright as the light created by his master, they were able to easily see around the cavern. Majic surveyed their surroundings, and smiled in spite of himself. He had to admit he was pretty pleased --- and a little surprised --- at his success.

"I hate to admit it," he commented, "but I'm kind of surprised, too. I guess Master was right; I just had to believe in myself" His voice trailed off wistfully as he looked toward the entrance, as if he expected Orphen to walk through it at any moment. 'Please, Master,' he thought, 'just be OK.'

"Majic," Cleao said, breaking into his thoughts, "It'll be OK. It just has to. You were right, you know. We have to believe in him."

Majic hastily wiped away tears that had begun to form in his eyes, and replied, "Yeah. In my heart, I know that. I want to believe it, but I I'm just so scared, Cleao. I've never seen him like that --- afraid like that. He he was really afraid." He quickly turned his head away from Cleao because he didn't want her to see that he had started crying again.

Cleao reached out and quickly squeezed Majic's arm. "It's OK to be afraid, Majic. I'm scared, too."

**************************************************************

"Wow, Majic. You made fire. I'm impressed."

Majic and Cleao had fallen asleep waiting for Orphen's return, but the sound of his master's voice woke Majic. He slowly rolled over, toward the sound of Orphen's voice, and rubbed at his blurry eyes until his vision cleared and his master's figure came into focus. Orphen was sitting near where Majic had been sleeping. He was slightly slumped over, with his knees drawn up near his chest, his left arm resting across his knees, and his head resting against his arm. He was slightly off to Majic's side, so that the boy could only see his profile. Orphen didn't even move as he spoke. He just remained, sitting, his head lying against his arm, staring into the fire, and his words were slurred and so quiet that they were barely audible. The complete exhaustion he saw in Orphen's manner and heard in the young sorcerer's voice erased all remnants of sleep from Majic's mind, bringing him suddenly and completely awake. He pushed himself into a sitting position and scooted across the few inches separating him from Orphen, until he was sitting directly in front of the young sorcerer. 

From his new vantage point in front of his master, Majic could see that, although his left arm rested across his knees, Orphen didn't move his right arm at all, and, in the dim light, he could see that the young sorcerer was covered with bruises. Orphen was soaking wet, and he was trembling from the cold. He bent over slightly so that he could look into Orphen's face, and saw that his master's eyes were glazed and unfocused. But, because of the way Orphen was sitting, Majic couldn't tell what other kinds of injuries he had. Gently, he reached out and touched Orphen's right shoulder. Although a look of pain crossed Orphen's face and tears sprang to his eyes, the young sorcerer barely even flinched. He was just too exhausted to react to the pain. Majic pulled his hand away, and, when he looked down at it, he was shocked to see that it was covered with blood.

Majic frowned and said, "Master, you're bleeding."

"Yeah," Orphen mumbled. "It Morph bit me."

Majic felt fear wash over him. His master was cold and lethargic, and, suddenly, it all began to make sense. 'Shit!' Majic thought, picturing Morph in his mind, remembering how it had looked like a huge, black snake. 'It must have been poisonous. But, what what can I do about it? How can I help with that?'

A small moan from Orphen drew Majic's attention away from his thoughts, and he leaned over to place his hand gently on his master's right shoulder, causing him to flinch slightly. "Master," Majic said softly, "What about your arm?"

"Broken," Orphen mumbled, still without lifting his head. "Shoulder broken. Ribs, too."

Majic's heart broke when he heard Orphen's words. He had never seen his master like this. It looked like he didn't even have the strength to raise his head. Majic felt tears once again come to his eyes. "Oh, Master. Why Why didn't you heal yourself?" He waited for Orphen to respond, but the young sorcerer just sat quietly.

Just as Majic was beginning to think his master had fallen asleep, Orphen, without moving his head or looking at Majic, mumbled, "Can't. No power left." He shook as a fresh wave of pain passed through his body. "Majic. Tired. Let me sleep."

"OK, Master. OK," Majic whispered, as he gently stroked Orphen's hair.

When he was certain that the young sorcerer was asleep, he moved to Orphen's side and, placing one hand on his master's chest and the other on his back, he pushed and pulled at the dislocated shoulder until he heard it slide back into place with a loud popping sound. He knew he didn't have enough power to completely heal the broken bones, but he thought that he might be able to at least ease Orphen's pain. He held one hand over his master's shoulder and the other over his ribs, and began to whisper the healing incantation. As the words started to come out of his mouth, doubt flooded Majic's mind, telling him that there was no way he could use such an advanced spell. Just as the doubt began to overwhelm him, Majic heard Orphen's words in his mind, telling him that he had to learn to believe in himself. He took one more look at his teacher, and knew that he had to try. Suddenly, his mind became calm, and, without any doubt or hesitation, he began to chant the spell. 

****


	4. Chapter 4

CHAPTER 4 

Cleao busied herself with making a soft bed for Orphen near the fire, while Majic did his best to clean and bandage their companion's injuries. She desperately wanted to look up from her task and across the fire to check on Majic's progress, but she was afraid of seeing Orphen. She was still reeling from the shock of seeing him when Majic woke her up. She had heard him calling her name, and rolled over out of a sound sleep only to come face to face with a sight that had shaken her to her very soul. At first, she had been overjoyed that Orphen had returned unharmed, and she had jumped to her feet to run across the cavern to them. She had been so worried about him, but, now that he had returned, all she wanted to do was throw her arms around his neck and welcome him back. But, as she had approached her two companions, she could see, even in the dim firelight, that Orphen was shivering and covered in water mixed with blood, and that he had fallen asleep right where he was sitting, too exhausted and weak to even care about where he was. She had never seen Orphen like that, and it had terrified her. She had immediately backed away from them in fear, almost stepping into the fire. Thankfully, Majic had rescued her by sharply telling her to fix a bed for Orphen on the other side of the fire.

The sound of popping flames drew Cleao back from her thoughts. She sighed and gently fluffed the bed once more. She had been able to locate a spot of ground that was relatively free of loose stones, and, yet, still close to the fire. She had spread her soft, down-filled sleeping bag over that spot and then covered it with another blanket. Realizing that she wasn't going to be able to make the bed any softer or fluffier, Cleao sighed. Majic hadn't yet signaled that he was done cleaning up Orphen, and Cleao turned her attention toward rummaging through her huge backpack.

"Cleao, I'm done. You can stop pretending to look for things in the pack," Majic said softly.

The sound of his voice made her jump, and Cleao replied, "I'm not pretending" Her voice trailed off as she turned to look at her two companions, and the look on Majic's face suddenly made her feel ashamed of her fear. She knew that Majic was closer to Orphen than, probably, anyone in the world, and she felt suddenly guilty for making him face the young sorcerer's injuries alone. She turned away from the accusing look on Majic's face, fixing her attention on the ground in front of her. "Well, I'm not really pretending," she mumbled.

"It's OK, Cleao," Majic told her. She looked up to see him smiling at her, and she knew that he understood her feelings perfectly. "It was better for just me to do it, anyhow. I was afraid that, if we both tried to take care of him, it would wake him up." He looked at Orphen, who was still sound asleep, and gently ran his fingers through the young sorcerer's dirty, matted hair. "It was better for him to sleep through it," he said absently. He looked back to Cleao and asked, "Is the bed ready?" When she nodded in response, he gently shook Orphen and whispered, "Master? Master, you need to wake up, now."

At first, Orphen didn't respond, and Majic felt a knot of fear rising from his stomach into his throat. He shook Orphen harder, and called again, louder this time, "Master, Master! Come on. Wake up now. Master!" Majic's increased effort managed to elicit a soft moan from Orphen, and he felt relieved when his master weakly raised his head to look around the cavern.

"Majic, what?" Orphen asked. He looked around the cavern in a confused and dazed manner, until his gaze finally fell on Majic again. "Majic, what where?" His gaze fell on his bandaged chest and shoulder, and he asked, "Did you ?" Suddenly, it seemed like a frightening thought hit Orphen, and he started to jump to his feet, only to have a wave of pain drive him back down into a sitting position.

"It's OK, Master," Majic quickly assured him as he helped ease Orphen back down into a comfortable position on the floor. "Don't move around too much, or you'll start bleeding again. It wasn't easy stopping it in the first place. You don't want to undo all my hard work, now, do you?" He smiled what he hoped was a reassuring smile. "Everything's going to be OK. Me and Cleao we're both fine. You saved us from that Morph thing, but you're hurt pretty bad, I think."

Orphen groaned as he settled back into a seated position on the floor. "You're really both all right?" he asked, glancing at Cleao, who was still standing on the other side of the fire.

She came around to kneel in front of Orphen, next to Majic. She placed her hand gently on his arm and said, "We're both OK, Orphen, really."

"Good," he said, leaning his head back onto his knees. "Majic," he mumbled.

Majic leaned forward to hear his master's voice more clearly. "Yes, Master?"

"Stop smiling like that," Orphen mumbled, "You look like you swallowed a toad."

****


	5. Chapter 5

CHAPTER 5 

"Cleao, I'm going back to that cavern that I found. You know, the one with all the books. There has to be something in there that can tell me how to help him," Majic said as he rose from his spot by the fire and stretched. He stepped over the small fire to kneel beside Orphen. Majic really didn't know how long they had been here. It was always dark in the tunnel and maze of caverns connected to it, and, without the sun or another way to tell time, he had no way of knowing if they had been here for five minutes or five days. All he knew was that Orphen had been asleep ever since he had returned from fighting Morph, and, to Majic, it seemed like it had been years since his master had been awake. He gently rolled Orphen over from his side onto his back and checked the bandages covering his chest and shoulders. He was relieved to find that the injuries hadn't started bleeding again, and he gently pulled the soft, warm blanket back over Orphen's body.

"How is he?" Cleao asked.

Majic shrugged. "Um, about the same, I guess. It's really hard to tell. He couldn't really talk much when he came back, and he's been like this ever since. I know his shoulder and ribs are broken. I tried to heal them, but I don't have enough power yet to really do it. At least, I was able to give them a good start at mending. So, those are probably OK. But, he said that Morph thing bit him, and, I don't know, but I think that thing maybe was poisonous. I won't know till I find some information on it --- maybe in that cavern with the books. And " His voice trailed off as he hesitated for a moment before continuing, "well, he's really weak. I think that Morph thing sucked up most of his power somehow. He said he didn't have the power to heal himself." He sighed and then smiled at Cleao in an attempt to hide his concern. "How long do you think we've been here, anyhow?"

Cleao sighed. "Who knows? Five minutes, five days, five years. What does it matter?" She stepped around the fire to sit next to Majic and look down at Orphen. "When do you think he'll wake up?"

Majic shrugged again. "Don't know. But, until he does, we can't leave. I don't want to move him, and he's really too heavy for us to carry. Besides, he's the only one of us who knows the way out of here." He tried to smile reassuringly at Cleao, and, to lighten the mood, he commented, "You know, I'm getting pretty darn good at this fire spell."

"Hmph," Cleao snorted. "If you're so good at it, why don't you make a bigger one?" she asked, laughing. "Majic," Cleao said softly, straightening the blanket over Orphen, "do you think he **will** wake up?" 

Majic gave Cleao a harsh look and snapped, "Stop it, Cleao! Of course he will. Don't even think like that." He stood and walked toward the cavern entrance, calling over his shoulder, "Until then, I'm going to keep on looking for some way to help him."

"Want me to come help you?" Cleao asked.

"Nah. You stay with Master, in case he wakes up while I'm gone. Besides, you're no good at reading the runes, and you'd probably just end up making a big mess of the books."

Cleao threw a large rock at Majic, and he ducked out of the cavern just in time to prevent it from hitting him in the head. She could hear him laughing as he walked down the tunnel toward the cavern with all of the books.

*****************************************************

Orphen groaned, rolled over onto his back, and slowly, very slowly, opened his eyes. At first, he panicked because he couldn't see anything, but, as his eyes focused, the cavern ceiling came into view. He slowly sat up, an action he immediately regretted as a sharp, searing pain seemed to begin from his shoulder and travel down to his ribs. Just breathing hurt like hell. He felt as if he had been dropped off of a cliff or run over by a wagon --- or dropped off a cliff and then run over by a wagon. He couldn't ever remember being so sore. And, he was tired --- so tired he could barely keep his eyes open, even though he had the feeling he had already been asleep for a long time. Although he was sitting near a small fire, which provided some dim light in the cavern, he was cold --- so cold that it felt like his blood had turned to ice. He shivered and reached for a blanket, only to find that it was already pulled tightly around his shoulders. He coughed, which sent another searing pain shooting through his body, and, as he put his hand to his chest, he was shocked to feel bandages. He peeked underneath the blanket and saw that his entire torso and shoulder were covered in strips of clean, white cloth.

'What the hell happened here?' he thought groggily. 'How did this' His thoughts trailed off as the memories suddenly rushed back to him. He could remember it all, although it was a bit fuzzy --- having his power taken by Morph, fighting the creature, passing out in the cavern where the battle had occurred, and, finally, somehow, finding his way back here. After that, he couldn't remember anything, but judging from the bandages covering his body, he guessed that Majic and Cleao had cleaned him up and taken care of him. 'Majic and Cleao. Where' Suddenly, he felt panic overtake him, because he couldn't remember what had happened to his two companions.

He looked around the cavern. In the dim light, he could see Cleao. She was asleep on the other side of the fire, but he could see her through the flames. She appeared to be okay. He slowly looked around again, but he didn't see Majic anywhere. He started to worry. Majic seemed to have a knack for getting into trouble, and Orphen tended to worry whenever he couldn't easily locate his apprentice. All he wanted to do was give in to his aching body and go back to sleep, but Orphen knew he wouldn't be able to rest until he satisfied himself that Majic was all right. Gritting his teeth against the pain, he slowly pushed himself up to a standing position, using the wall for support, and, then, walked unsteadily out of the cavern.

********************************************************

Majic coughed and sighed in frustration, looking around the huge cavern, which was dimly lit, with the help of the illumination spell that Majic had recently mastered. It had obviously been someone's library, once upon a time. The Heavenly Ones, if they really were the ones who had built this tunnel and the maze of caverns leading off of it, had carved floor-to-ceiling shelves right into the solid rock walls of this particular chamber. They ringed the vast, circular room, and they were crowded with dusty, old books full of ancient and long forgotten knowledge. Books overflowed off of the shelves and were stacked in hundreds of piles all around the room. Majic was seated near the center of the huge cavern, on a pile of books he had already reviewed. He felt like he was covered in dust from head to toe. In the dim illumination provided by the glowing phosphorous in the cave's walls and ceiling, he could see clouds of dust floating in the air. Each time he finished leafing through a book with no success, he tossed it aside, onto the pile nearest him, sending little clouds of dust up into the air like puffs of smoke. He had seen the cavern full of books when he, Orphen, and Cleao had initially explored the tunnel maze looking for water, and, after Orphen had been injured, he had just known that he would find something in here to help his master. But, he felt like he had already been searching for days without any success, and his frustration was beginning to get the better of him. He finally reached the last page of the book he was holding, still without finding any answers to his questions. "Dammit!" he cursed softly. "How the hell can all these books be here, but, still no answers. How can there be nothing in here to help him?" Without even looking, he angrily threw the book across the cavern room, toward the wall next to the entrance.

********************************************************

Although he was fairly unsteady on his feet, Orphen managed to make his way down the tunnel fairly easily, thanks to the dim illumination provided by the glowing rocks embedded throughout the tunnel's walls and ceiling. 'Pretty damn good, Majic,' he thought, looking around appreciatively, 'making fire and learning the illumination spell. There might be hope for you, yet.' He tripped over a small rock in the middle of the tunnel, and grabbed for the wall to catch his balance. He groaned as he hit the wall and pain shot through his broken ribs and shoulder. 'Gotta watch where I'm going,' he thought as he managed to right himself and continue further down the tunnel. He knew that Majic had to be somewhere in the vicinity. The glowing tunnel walls and ceiling told him that his apprentice had at least come this way. Orphen tried to remember back to when he had explored the different caverns with his two companions. He vaguely remembered seeing a room full of books, which had immediately fascinated Majic, but, now, he couldn't remember exactly where that particular cavern was located within the tunnel maze. Unable to remember exactly where the book cavern was, he decided to just continue following the glowing path that Majic had illuminated. Sooner or later, he figured, he would run across his student.

He continued walking down the tunnel. After a few minutes, he thought he heard Majic's voice coming out of the distance. He could barely see an entrance a few feet ahead of him. As he approached it, Majic's voice became louder, and he could hear the sound of books thumping into the rock floors and walls. Feeling somewhat relieved that he had located his missing apprentice, Orphen approached the cavern's entrance --- only to be knocked flat on his butt by a flying book striking him squarely in the face.

********************************************************

A surprised yell drew Majic's attention from the pile of books he was perusing. He looked up curiously, and, seeing nothing, he decided to investigate. He slowly, hesitantly, made his way toward the cavern entrance. He had begun to get used to their dark surroundings, but the thought that this place might have been made by the Heavenly Ones still gave him the creeps. When he reached the cavern entrance, he peered cautiously around the doorway's edge. He looked up and down the hall, but saw nothing.

"Who's there?" he called, hoping that his voice wasn't shaking as much as he thought it was.

"It's me, Majic."

The sound of Orphen's voice floating up from the floor startled Majic, making him jump. He looked down to see his master, half lying on the floor and half leaning against the tunnel's rock wall. Blood from a cut on his head dripped slowly down his face, and he held up the book that Majic had just thrown from the cavern.

"Oh! Master! Did I Did I hit you with that book? Oh, I'm so sorry. I I didn't know you were there," Majic stammered as he reached out a hand to help Orphen up off of the ground.

Orphen shook his head and took the outstretched hand that Majic offered him, slowly pulling himself to his feet. As he stood, he suddenly felt dizzy, and he swayed dangerously back and forth, his hand searching blindly for the wall that was behind him. Majic quickly moved in to offer Orphen some support. He frowned and silently cursed himself. The last thing his master needed right now was to be hit in the head with a huge, heavy book. He looked down at the book in Orphen's hand and frowned. It had to be one of the largest books he had looked through yet, and he recalled that it had been so heavy that he had had to use both hands just to throw it. 'I would have to hit him with that one,' he thought, shaking his head.

"Thanks, Majic," Orphen said slowly. He regained his balance and straightened, so that he was standing slightly away from his student, but his hand remained on Majic's shoulder, as though he needed the extra support. He still felt dizzy, and he gingerly put his hand to his head and felt the cut caused by the heavy book he still held. He put a little pressure on the cut, thinking that he would stop the bleeding that way, but it just made him dizzy, and he swayed, dangerously close to falling, before Majic managed to catch him.

"Master," Majic said quietly, trying to hide the worry in his voice, "Come on, inside, and sit down, OK?" When his master didn't respond or move, he said, "I think you need to sit down." He half-carried Orphen into the cavern and deposited him on the nearest pile of books.

Orphen groaned slightly as he dropped heavily onto the make-shift seat. Majic sank to the floor to sit, cross-legged, next to him. He quietly watched Orphen and tried to hide the worried look on his face. Orphen leaned back against another pile of books and pressed his left hand to his head. Majic tore a square of cloth off of his shirttail and wordlessly held it out to the older boy, who accepted it and pressed it against the cut created by the book.

"Master, I " Majic began, looking guiltily at the floor and rubbing his finger across the stones near his feet, "I I'm really sorry about that book. I ""Don't be silly," Orphen muttered, cutting Majic off in mid-sentence. "You couldn't have known I was there. It was just an accident, and getting hit in the head by a book probably isn't what's gonna kill me." He held up the huge book and looked at it, continuing, "Even if it was a damn big book. What are you doing here, anyhow?"

"Guess I should be asking you that," Majic replied. "You should be resting, not wandering around in this cold tunnel." He stood and exited the cavern. Within a few moments, he returned, carrying the blanket that Orphen had had wrapped around his shoulders. He had dropped it when the book's impact had caused him to fall to the floor. Majic gently placed the warm cover around Orphen's shoulders, silently noting that the young sorcerer's skin was as cold as ice.

"Thanks," Orphen mumbled as he pulled the blanket tightly around him with shaking hands. He saw Majic watching him with a worried look, and shrugged. "Can't stop shaking," he said with a cough. "Even the blanket doesn't help, really. I'm cold from the inside. Nothing's gonna warm me up, now, I guess. So," he said, giving Majic his best "angry master" look, "what are you doing here?"

Majic sat back down at Orphen's feet, and, looking at the ground, muttered, "I was looking for something to help. Some information on that Morph thing, something that would tell us how to cure you, something anything." Suddenly, he felt ashamed that he hadn't been able to find anything that would help his master.

"If that's what you're doing, why would you throw it away just when you found it?" Orphen asked.

Majic just looked up at him, and in response to the question he saw in the boy's eyes, Orphen tossed the heavy book onto Majic's lap. It fell open to a page containing a rough sketch of a familiar-looking, snake-like creature. Majic instantly recognized it as Morph.

"Master! Wow! You found it! Oh my gosh, that's great I can't I can't believe it. I've been looking for it all this time; seems like I've been looking for it for days and days, and here you walk right into it!"

"Yeah, literally," Orphen replied, tenderly rubbing the cut on his head, which was beginning to form a large knot.

**********************************************************************

"Majic! Majic! Where the hell are you, you little dweeb!" The sound of Cleao's voice coming from the tunnel a little way from the library cavern made Majic jump and jolted his attention from the book he was studying. He had had his nose buried in the large, dusty tome ever since Orphen had shown it to him. He had become so absorbed in trying to decipher the ancient language in the book that he had completely lost track of the time, and he had no idea how long he and Orphen had been there. He looked over his shoulder, to the spot where he had last left Orphen, and saw that his master had fallen asleep, sitting on the floor and leaning back against a huge, dusty stack of books. Majic couldn't help but smile. He was happy just to see his master up and about, even if he was moving fairly slowly and still sick. Majic hadn't yet been able to figure out exactly what the book said about that Morph creature, but he was convinced that he would be able to find something in there or in another one of the volumes in this room that would help Orphen. He just knew it. He jumped again as he heard Cleao's voice, coming closer and getting louder, and he decided that he had better stop her from yelling before she woke up Orphen, although there weren't any signs that the young sorcerer had even heard her. He shut the book with a soft thud, causing a puff of dust to shoot out of its pages. Coughing, he put the book aside and quickly made his way into the tunnel just outside the cavern.

"Cleao!" he called in a loud whisper. "I'm here, so stop yelling."

Cleao gave him an angry look as she stopped a little ways away from him and stood with her hands on her hips. "Majic, why the heck do you care if I yell? It's not like there's anyone around to hear me!" She rolled her eyes as Majic waved his hands, trying to motion her into silence, and, of course, she ignored him and continued speaking in a loud voice. "Stop that, Majic. Anyhow, we have bigger problems." She stepped closer to Majic and grabbed his arm.

Majic's anger disappeared the minute Cleao stepped close enough for him to see the fear in her eyes and hear the panic in her voice. "Cleao, what is it? What's wrong?"

She quickly wiped away a tear, and sobbed, "Orphen. I woke up and and he was gone. Majic, I I don't know where he is."

Majic quickly hugged her to him to try and stop her crying. "Cleao," he said soothingly, "it's all right. He's here. Master's here with me."

Majic was shocked at how quickly Cleao's fear turned into white-hot anger. "What!" she screamed, pushing Majic away and completely ignoring his pleas for her to be quiet. "Oh! That weasel! I'll kill him! I swear, I'll kill him for making me worry like that! All this time, I thought he was on his deathbed sick, and here he is, gallivanting around like a big MORON!" She shoved Majic aside ran into the cavern.

Majic whirled and tried, unsuccessfully, to grab Cleao's arm before she got to the cavern entrance. He raced after her, and, because he was so intent on stopping her from waking Orphen with her noisy tirade, he wasn't watching where he was going and ran right into her back, almost knocking her down on top of his master. Cleao waved her arms in the air to regain her balance, and narrowly missed falling down on top of Orphen. Instead of falling forward, she fell backward slightly, and Majic only barely managed to catch her.

"Majic!" Cleao hissed in a whisper, "what the hell are you trying to do? Kill us all?"

"Sorry," Majic mumbled. "I just didn't want you to wake him up, that's all. You can be so noisy sometimes well, most of the time, actually." He ignored the evil look that Cleao gave him and helped her get back onto her feet.

Luckily, Orphen hadn't awakened during the noisy commotion made by his two companions. He was still asleep, sitting in the same position on the floor, sprawled out against a huge stack of books. Sometime during his sleep, the blanket, which he had carried with him from the cavern where they had camped, had slipped off his shoulders and now rested on his lap. He looked peaceful and comfortable, and, if it hadn't been for the bruises and bandages covering his body, they wouldn't have even been able to tell that he was hurt or sick --- except for the fact that they had been standing there talking for the past few minutes, and he hadn't even heard them.

Cleao put her hand to her mouth to hold in a sob as she said, "Oh, Majic. I'm sorry for being so loud. I just when I woke up and he wasn't there I just got scared." She knelt and gently pulled the blanket up over Orphen's bare chest and arms. She looked up at Majic and tears filled her eyes, "He really looks tired, doesn't he? I don't know why I didn't notice before, when he was sleeping, that he looks so tired and sick" 

Majic, who was standing behind her, replied, "Yeah. He does."

Cleao wiped away another tear, and gently ran her fingers through Orphen's hair. When he slowly opened his eyes and gave her a confused look, she softly said, "Sorry. I didn't mean to wake you up."

"S'okay," he mumbled. He looked around, as if he were trying to wake up and remember exactly where he was, and, as he ran his hand through his hair, lifting up his bangs, Cleao caught sight of the cut and large knot created by the book that had hit him in the head earlier.

"Hey!" she exclaimed in concern. She leaned forward and gently probed at the wound, making Orphen wince. "What happened? Did you fall down or hit your head?"

"Nah. Majic hit me in the head with a book," Orphen replied.

"What!" Cleao whirled angrily to face Majic. "Majic, you idiot! What the hell are you trying to do --- kill him off?"

Majic backed away hastily and held up his hands in a gesture that he hoped would placate the girl's anger. Over Cleao's shoulder, he could see Orphen laughing silently, and he knew that his master was enjoying the fact that, for once, she was angry with someone other than him. "I it it was an accident really!" Majic stammered as he backed away, toward the cavern's entrance.

"It was a really big book, too," Orphen whined as Cleao continued to stalk toward Majic, who was laughing nervously and still backing away toward the door.

"Master, how could you?" Majic squeaked. He darted out of the cavern's door, just as a book, thrown by Cleao, whizzed by him and hit the wall, barely missing his head.

***************************************************************

Majic hastily finished the latest entry in the journal he had been keeping ever since he started traveling and training with Orphen. As he placed the final punctuation mark on the entry's closing sentence, he quickly flipped to the journal's back cover and placed a hash mark on the page. He had been placing one mark on this page each time he awakened after what he supposed to be a "night's" sleep. Without the help of the sun, it was the only way he could even begin to try to approximate the amount of time they had been in the tunnel and cavern maze. His latest mark joined five others that were already on the page, indicating that they had probably been in the tunnel for six days now. Majic shook his head as he surveyed the marks on the page. It was so hard to believe that so much could happen in less than a week, but he only had to look back over his journal entries, written in a frenzied, shaking hand, to confirm the occurrences of the past few days.

Majic stretched to ease his cramped muscles. His back was aching from hours of poring over the dusty, old magic texts, and, on top of that, from writing his latest journal entry. He stretched slowly, reaching toward the ceiling, and then leaned back to survey the room. As they had for the past two days, he and Orphen had returned to the library cavern shortly after eating breakfast to study the ancient books for some type of clue that might help them out of their current situation. Majic had been thrilled at finding the book that discussed Morph, but, after that brief victory, it had been very slow going. Majic's education in the ancient scripts was far from complete, and, even though Orphen could easily decipher the ancient texts, he didn't have the energy to work for more than an hour or two at a time. Once he had translated part of the first text, Orphen had been able to confirm that Morph was a magic eater, a beast that lived and gained strength by using the magic of its victims. According to the book, the ancient sorcerers known as the Heavenly Ones had created Morph to defeat and control sorcerers who had used their magic powers to prey upon the weak. Once these evil sorcerers had been defeated, the ancient ones had found the beast to be too dangerous and difficult to control, and they had sealed it deep within the tunnel, in the cavern pool where Majic had awakened it by inadvertently breaking the seal. Orphen had also been able to confirm what he already knew and what both Majic and Cleao had feared --- that Morph had been highly poisonous. The first book hadn't given any real details about the poison or its effects, but it had contained a vague reference to another text containing a possible antidote. So far, after two days of searching, they hadn't been able to find the second text.

Majic stifled a yawn and surveyed the room. It appeared that the ancient library had never been kept in any real order, and he had ransacked it like a madman in his desperate search for the key to his master's survival. Books --- there must have been thousands of them --- tumbled from the shelves that ringed the huge cavern, and were stacked in hundreds of crumbling piles all around the room, leaving only a narrow, maze-like path in between them. The stacks were so high, that, from his seated position, Majic couldn't even see Orphen. He stood and began to make his way around the room, through the piles, until he finally found his master.

Orphen was asleep, sprawled out in between two giant stacks of books, using a third, smaller stack as a makeshift mattress. The book he had been translating rested, open and upside-down, on his chest. Majic couldn't help smiling. It amazed him that his master could look equally at home in a room full of books as he did fighting beasts, dragons, or evil sorcerers. Even though he was obviously sick and tired, Orphen looked comfortable and content, lying on the books. Majic frowned slightly as he watched the young sorcerer sleep. Over the past couple of days, Orphen had begun to look even more tired and sick. He had virtually stopped eating, taking only a few mouthfuls of food, and only after Cleao begged him to eat something. Even while he was asleep, Orphen's face looked pale, haggard, and drawn, and his skin was an ashy gray color. Cleao had managed to mend Orphen's shirt, but, even with the added warmth of the clothing, the young sorcerer was ice cold all the time. Even though Majic and Cleao begged him to use the blanket to stay warm in the damp caves, Orphen had given up on carrying it with him, saying that he was cold from the inside, and nothing was going to warm that. Suddenly, Majic felt a shock of fear as he realized he couldn't see the book rising and falling with his master's chest. Slowly, almost afraid of what he would find, Majic knelt beside Orphen and reached out to touch his arm. Just as he was about to shake the young sorcerer awake, Orphen sighed, and Majic realized that he was breathing. Majic smiled slightly in relief. He had just decided to let Orphen continue to sleep when he heard someone making their way through the maze of books. He stood to look over the stacks to find Cleao smiling at him over one of the closest piles.

"Oh, Cleao," Majic said, smiling gently. "It's you."

Cleao shook her head and replied, "You idiot! Who the heck didya think it would be? You've had your nose buried in those books for too long." She tried to make her voice sound harsh, but she was smiling. "Anyway," she continued, peering over the book stacks standing between them, "I came to get you guys because dinner is ready. It seems like you've both been in here all day. Aren't you hungry?" She stepped around the two stacks, until she was standing next to Majic. "How's he doing?" she asked, looking down at Orphen.

Majic just shrugged and replied, "Did he eat anything earlier?" When Cleao shook her head in response, he said, "Well, then, let's see if we can get him to eat something. We should stop for the day, anyhow. I think he's pretty worn out."

***********************************************************

"Come on, Orphen," Cleao said gently as she held a dish of stew out toward the young sorcerer. She frowned as Orphen shook his head and waved the dish away.

Majic's eyes met Cleao's over the fire's small flames, and he saw the worry plainly written there. He easily recognized the look, because he knew it mirrored his own expression. He was as scared as she was, and he knew that they both were beginning to realize that Orphen's health was quickly deteriorating. Majic silently wondered how much longer his master could hold out against the exhaustion caused by losing his powers and the poison that was attacking his system. Even though he didn't know exactly what Morph's poison was doing, Majic knew it was affecting Orphen. The sorcerer had stopped eating, complaining that the food made him sick. It was difficult for him to control the shaking that seemed to slowly be taking over every muscle in his body, and it seemed to be a struggle for him to just keep breathing. Cleao prodded Majic with her elbow, making him jump and startling him from his thoughts. When Majic looked over at her, she nodded toward Orphen, who sat across the fire from them, staring blankly into the flames.

Majic nodded in response to Cleao's unspoken request, and took the dish of stew from her. He skirted the fire to sit next to Orphen. "Come on, Master," he said gently, "just try to eat a little, won't you? Please. We're worried about you. You haven't eaten anything all day, and you hardly ate yesterday. You have to stay strong." He smiled and took Orphen's hands in his own, frowning as he felt them shaking, and gently cupped his master's fingers around the plate's edges.

Orphen took the plate from Majic and looked at it silently for a moment before replying, "I'm sorry, Majic." He looked up, first at Majic and then across the fire at Cleao. Both of them felt their hearts drop when they saw the deep, black circles that ringed his eyes and the exhaustion in his face. "I'm really sorry." He handed the plate back to Majic. "I just I just can't." He turned away to lie down on his side, with his back to the fire.

"But, Master," Majic protested weakly, "you need to eat something if you're going to have enough strength to look for the cure tomorrow."

"Not going back to the library tomorrow," Orphen mumbled. "Leaving tomorrow."

"What? Master, what does that mean?" Majic asked. Orphen didn't respond or even look at Majic. "Dammit, Master! You answer me!" Majic snapped angrily. He shook Orphen roughly, but the sorcerer didn't show any signs of responding to his questions. "You son of a bitch!" Majic screamed. "You're giving up, aren't you? You're just going to give up and die. You bastard!" He angrily pulled Orphen toward him, rolling him onto his back, and slapped at his face. He grabbed the front of Orphen's shirt and continued to shake him roughly. "Answer me! Answer me right now!"

Orphen didn't reply or even try to protect himself from Majic's attack. Instead, he silently allowed the boy to angrily shake him until his head snapped back and forth like a rag doll's. He groaned as his head bounced off of the hard rock floor, but Majic, caught up in his anger and fear, continued to shake him.

"MAJIC, STOP IT!" Cleao screamed. She jumped across the fire and grabbed Majic's shoulder, pulling him away from Orphen. When Majic looked up at her, she saw tears shining in his eyes and running down his face. "Majic," she said, her voice shaking, "stop. Please, stop. You're hurting him."

Majic jumped as he suddenly realized what he was doing. He let go of Orphen's shirt and buried his head in his hands, sobbing. "What what am I doing? But he he can't just give up like this, Cleao. He just can't" His words dissolved in a succession of sobs.

Cleao knelt down and pulled Majic into a gentle embrace. She smoothed his hair, trying to comfort him, and whispered, "He knows what he's doing, Majic. You just have to trust him. Trust your master."

Sobbing, Majic pushed Cleao away, and ran out of the cavern. She silently watched him go, and then turned to check on Orphen. "Are you all right?" she asked. She felt relieved when he nodded in response, and, as he tried to move back into a more comfortable position on the ground, she moved closer and helped him. Once he finally settled down into a fairly comfortable spot, Cleao gently pulled the blanket over him and sat down next to him, watching the entrance, as if she thought Majic would come back through it. She gently laid her hand on his chest, taking comfort in feeling it rise and fall beneath her hand. She jumped and looked down at Orphen when she felt his hand on top of hers.

"Don't you think you should go check on him?" she asked. When Orphen responded by shaking his head, she frowned and asked "Why? He's been doing this all for you. Even though he's been terrified ever since you got hurt, he's been searching for some kind of cure --- some way just to help you. He's been struggling just to hide his fear so that you won't lose hope, but you're just gonna give up like this? Just waste everything he's trying so hard to do? Don't you even care?"

Orphen groaned and held his broken ribs as he rolled over onto his side. "I care, Cleao," he mumbled. She had to strain to even hear his voice. "But, Majic has to find his own way. He has to learn to trust himself and me." Cleao reached out to gently rub his back as he started coughing. Once the coughing fit stopped, he continued, "I don't expect you to believe this, but Majic and you you guys mean everything to me. I only stayed here this long for him so he would figure out on his own that sometimes you have to find your answers within yourself. But now now there's no time. We need to leave."

Cleao didn't understand anything Orphen was saying. She leaned forward to lie down against his back, resting her head on his shoulder so that she could look down into his face. His eyes were closed, and, except for the lines of exhaustion and pain etched around his eyes and mouth, he looked as if he were completely at peace. "What do you mean?" she asked softly.

Orphen didn't open his eyes as he responded, "Figure it out. I'm tired, Cleao. Leave me alone."

*******************************************************

Majic ran blindly down the dark tunnel. He was crying so hard that he didn't even know where he was going, but he suddenly found himself standing in front of the library cavern. He chanted the illumination spell and, once the room was lit, he entered it and sank to the floor, sobbing, in the middle of the piles of dusty books. He was so angry. He had never felt so angry and hopeless in his whole life. As he looked around the room --- all those answers right at his fingertips --- all that knowledge there for his taking, he suddenly realized that he would never find the answers he needed in these books, no matter how hard he searched. He felt a rage, born of helplessness, overtake him.

"SON OF A BITCH!" he screamed, listening to the sound of his voice echoing off of the hard rock walls and disappearing into the distance.

He reached for the nearest book and threw it angrily, taking comfort in the sound of it smacking solidly against the wall. He followed it with another and another and another, until books were scattered all over the room. Still finding his anger unsatisfied, he grabbed one book and ripped its pages into shreds. Without even stopping to think, he grabbed for another book, and then another and another and another, until little pieces of shredded parchment floated in the air and littered the floor like snowflakes. When he had finally exhausted himself, he sank down onto the floor like a crumpled ball of paper, pressing his face to the cold, hard rock, and cried.

********************************************************

Cleao woke up to find Majic sitting next to Orphen, watching him sleep. Majic looked up when he heard her moving to sit up, and she could see, even in the dim firelight, that his face and eyes were red from crying.

"Is he OK?" he asked, turning his attention back to Orphen.

"Yeah," Cleao replied as she scooted over to sit next to Majic. She gently stroked Orphen's hair, letting it fall through her fingers, chuckling softly as she said, "You know, it's funny. Whenever I'm near him, I want to do this, but, if he wasn't so sick, he'd never let me. You'd think I'd be thrilled, but I really just wish he'd tell me to go away and leave him alone." She looked sideways at Majic and asked, "Are you OK?"

"Yeah," Majic replied, nodding. He smiled at Cleao and squeezed her hand gently. "I'm sorry about earlier. I I don't know what came over me."

Cleao leaned against him and rested her head on his shoulder. "Majic, he he didn't mean to hurt you, you know."

Majic smiled back at her and reached out to gently smooth the blanket   
over Orphen's chest. "He kind of looks like a little kid when he's asleep, doesn't he?" He laughed softly. "It's kind of funny, don't you think? I mean, he's always so serious, and, well grouchy, kind of. But, when he's asleep like this I wonder why I never noticed it before? Probably because he is so darn grouchy."  


"Majic," Cleao said, "he does care, you know. About you. About me, too, I guess."

Majic reached over and ruffled her hair. He laughed as she tried to bat his hand away. "I know," he said. "He only stayed here this long because of me. But, now, I think he feels like we're running out of time." He sighed and rested his chin on his knees, which he had drawn up to his chest. "He's the only one of us who knows the way out, and he doesn't have time to humor me anymore. He has other things on his mind now."

"You knew all along?" Cleao asked. She stared at Majic with her mouth open. "But how? How did you know what he was thinking?"

Majic shrugged. "He's my master. I just wish " His voice trailed off and he wiped away a stray tear before continuing, "I just wish I had found some way to help him."

Cleao bumped Majic softly with her shoulder and said, "Hey, I know I'm not really good at all that book crap, but, why don't we go back to that library room and look again? We still have tonight. I'll help you. I'm sure, if we look together, we'll find it by the time Orphen's ready to leave."

Majic reached up to gently squeeze Cleao's hand, which rested on his shoulder. "Thanks, Cleao. Thanks a lot. But, the answer it's not there. It's not in those books. He knew it all along. It just took me a while to figure out what he was trying to teach me this time."

"What the hell are you talking about? What could you possibly learn from that? I mean, he just let you waste all that time. He wasted all this time when he knew there wasn't any answer to be found there. What the hell did that do except shorten his life? What could that teach you?"

Majic smiled and, reaching out to gently lay his hand against Orphen's hair, he replied, "Trust."

Cleao shrugged and stuck her tongue out at Majic. "Whatever," she said. "I'll never understand you or him. So, if the magic cure potion thingy isn't in those books, what are we gonna do?"

"Don't know," Majic replied as he turned away to begin packing up their belongings. "Guess we're both just going to have to trust him and hope for the best."


	6. Chapter 6

CHAPTER 6 

Majic squinted as they finally emerged into the sunlight. Like a man just freed from a lifetime of captivity, he stood at the exit, arms outstretched and his face turned upward toward the sun's healing light. He felt like they had been inside the dark tunnel for years, and, in the back of his mind, Majic had begun to feel that they would never leave that dark prison. But, they had finally emerged into the bright morning sun of a beautiful spring day to find their pathway snaking out of the tunnel and off into a forest. Near the forest's edge, a river of clear, blue water flowed through high banks covered with the greenest grass he thought he had ever seen. In the distance, Majic could hear the roar of a waterfall. He would never know for sure how much time they had spent in the tunnel and maze of caverns, but, by the time they exited into the sunlight, he had placed nine marks in his journal, indicating a nine-day long imprisonment.

Once they started moving toward the exit, Orphen had told Majic that they should be out of the tunnel within a day or two, but the trip out had taken much longer than he had expected. The sorcerer had been trying to hide his condition from his two companions, but Majic knew that Morph's poison had really begun to affect Orphen. He stumbled and fell often during the trip out of the caverns, and, although he knew the way out of the tunnel, he got lost several times, leading them into various dark, abandoned chambers before they finally saw the white light signaling the exit to the outside world. With each stumble and each tortured step Orphen had made toward the exit, Majic had felt his hopes fall. Orphen had shrugged off each mistake, blaming it on the darkness, but Majic knew that his master was suffering. It was obvious to him that the older boy's coordination was failing, as was his eyesight. Majic and Cleao had both begged Orphen to stop and rest, but he had refused, and continued moving toward the exit with an urgency that was unlike him. That had confirmed Majic's worst fear --- his master's time was clearly running out. By the time they had reached the exit, Orphen was clearly exhausted, and Majic wondered where the sorcerer even found the strength to remain standing.

"Majic."

The sound of his master's voice broke through Majic's thoughts and dragged him back to the present. He turned to find Orphen sitting near the tunnel exit. He quickly went to the sorcerer's side and knelt next to him.

"Master? Are you OK? What is it?" Majic asked, a worried look on his face. He looked up to see Cleao, who was standing on the other side of Orphen, staring at him over the top of the sorcerer's head. Majic thought that Cleao looked just as scared and worried as he did. Suddenly, he realized that the only one in their little trio who didn't seem worried was Orphen, and he found that fact to be very strange.

Orphen shook his head in response to Majic's questions. "I'm OK. Help me up. I need you to come with me." The sorcerer took the hand Majic extended to him and grunted as he pulled himself up off of the ground. Once he was standing, he swayed back and forth, almost falling, and Majic reached out quickly to steady him. "Thanks," Orphen said, placing his hand on top of Majic's head. "Cleao, we're going to camp over there, on the riverbank. You set up camp." Without waiting for the girl's answer, he started toward the waterfall Majic heard roaring in the distance.

*****************************************************************

Without saying a word, Orphen slowly made his way toward the waterfall situated a short distance from the spot he had picked for their camp. Even though it was less than half a mile away, he had to stop to rest, and he had a hard time finding solid footing on the smooth path. Majic walked a few steps behind his master, watching as Orphen stumbled, almost falling, and then managed to catch himself just in time. Each near fall felt like a needle piercing Majic's heart. It was painful for him to watch his master, who was normally strong, powerful, and sure of himself, stumble slowly along like a sick, old man. Majic could tell that Orphen remained on his feet through willpower alone. The sorcerer's clothes, which had once fit perfectly, now hung off of him, making him resemble a scarecrow. Even through the loose clothes, he could see Orphen's backbone and the jagged, broken ends of his ribs. He could tell that just breathing had become a painful, difficult task for his master, and he could almost feel every step painfully jarring Orphen's bruised body and broken bones.

After what seemed like an eternity to Majic, they finally reached the waterfall he had heard when they had exited the tunnel. He stood on the bank and stared, amazed, at one of the biggest waterfalls he had ever seen. It began about twenty feet above them and poured over the river's upper lip to roll down the side of a rocky cliff, crashing into large, protruding boulders on its downward journey, until it ended its free-fall by smashing into several gigantic rocks at its base, where it ran into a deep pool directly in front of him. The water's roar was almost deafening, and the water in the pool was so clear that Majic could see all the way to its rocky bottom, almost thirty feet below him. He jumped back from the pool's edge, startled, as a fish exploded from the surface and snatched a bug out of mid air.

"Wow!" Majic whispered. "It's so beautiful. I don't think I've ever seen anything like it."

Almost reluctantly, the young blonde turned away from the depths of the crystal clear pool to find his master. Orphen had collapsed on the riverbank a little away from the waterfall. He was leaning against a tree, his knees drawn up to his chest, and his head resting on his knees. Any elation Majic felt at the waterfall's beauty vanished as he saw his exhausted, broken master. Orphen clearly looked like a man who had reached the end of his rope only to find that someone had already set it on fire. In the dark of the tunnel, it had been easy for him to fool himself, but here, in the bright sunlight, it was painfully obvious that his master was dying.

"Master?" Majic asked as he knelt next to Orphen. The sorcerer didn't reply to Majic's question, or even move to indicate that he knew the boy was there. He just remained still, his head resting on his knees. Majic reached out to gently touch his arm, and Orphen jumped when Majic touched him, as if the contact had been painful. Slowly, he looked up at the young blonde.

"Master, I'm sorry. Did I hurt you?" Majic asked.

"It's OK," Orphen replied, giving Majic a weak smile. "You couldn't help it. Everything hurts, anyhow. Even breathing." He sighed and leaned his head back against the tree, closing his eyes. "I am so damn tired. And cold." He leaned forward and placed his head between his knees as he started to cough.

Majic watched silently. He had never felt so helpless. "Master," he said softly, leaning forward to put his arms around Orphen and give him some extra support. He could feel every bone in the sorcerer's body, as his master shuddered and shook violently with every cough. He gently rubbed Orphen's back and waited for the fit to pass. When it finally did, Orphen remained sitting, slumped over, his head between his knees, as he struggled to catch his breath. "Master," Majic continued, "Maybe you should rest for a while. You haven't really slept or eaten in days."

Slowly, Orphen shook his head. "Can't. Time is too short. If I rest, I won't wake up, and, somehow, we need to get out of this mess. I have to have to keep going for as long as I can." He looked up, into Majic's eyes, and saw fear there. He sighed and gently ruffled the boy's hair. "Majic," he said softly, "I'm sorry. I've been a pretty poor excuse for a master, haven't I? I'm " He paused as he struggled to choke back another coughing fit, and then continued, "I'm sorry to put you through this. You and Cleao, too." He looked away from Majic and toward the pool and waterfall, and softly, almost inaudibly, said, "You'll tell her for me, right, Majic?"

Majic suddenly realized he was hearing his master say goodbye, and a surge of panic shot through him like a bolt of lightening. "NO!" he yelled, shaking Orphen. "No! I won't. You're not getting out of this that easy. You're just going to have to tell her yourself."

Orphen put his hand out to stop Majic from shaking him. "Majic, stop stop it. You're making me sick." Majic quickly released him with a mumbled "Sorry", and he looked so dejected that Orphen wanted to laugh. "Aw hell," he said, pushing himself into a standing position using Majic's head as leverage, "that crazy broad never listens to me, anyhow." As Majic stood to help Orphen steady himself, the sorcerer started walking slowly toward the pool and waterfall.

"Master, what do you want me to do?" Majic called after him.

Orphen paused for a moment as he thought about Majic's question. As he started walking toward the waterfall again, he called over his shoulder, "Just wait there. And fish me out if I fall into the pool. I've gotta make a call."

****


	7. Chapter 7

CHAPTER 7 

Majic fidgeted nervously with a blade of grass as he watched his master. With every fiber of his being, he wanted Orphen to come out of the water and back to the safety of the riverbank. He had watched nervously as the sorcerer had picked his way unsteadily across the slippery, wet boulders. Orphen had slipped and come precariously close to falling more than once, sending Majic to the verge of panic. He had been inches away from sprinting into the deep pool each time, but Orphen had just waved him away, instructing him to stay where he was. Now, the sorcerer was sitting on one of the largest boulders, halfway across the pool and directly under the roaring waterfall, with his eyes closed. He had removed his shirt, and now sat under the waterfall with the water crashing down onto his back, chest, and shoulders.

Majic squinted up at the sun, and figured, judging from its position in the sky, that they had been here for almost an hour. He looked back toward his master, and wondered what in the world Orphen was doing. He had been watching the sorcerer for the past hour, but Orphen hadn't so much as twitched a muscle. Now that Orphen's torso was bare, Majic could see almost every bone in the sorcerer's back, chest, and arms, confirming what he had suspected his master's loose clothing had hidden. He was shocked at how thin Orphen was. He had known that the sorcerer had been eating very little, but, looking at him now, Majic realized that he probably hadn't eaten anything for quite a while. He shook his head, silently cursing himself for not keeping a closer eye on his master. Orphen always was good at hiding things from everyone. As he watched him, meditating under the pounding, rushing water, Majic found that he was amazed by his master's strength. He knew that Orphen was sick and weak --- that the sorcerer himself felt that he was on the edge of death --- yet, here he was, sitting calmly under a waterfall with thousands of pounds of water rushing down on him. Majic knew that the water's weight would have been too much for almost anyone to stand, and he couldn't understand why it didn't drive Orphen right into the rocks. Majic squinted up at the sun again, and silently wondered how much longer they would be here. Sighing, he laid back on the warm, grassy riverbank and fell asleep.

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Majic awoke slowly to a distinct and unpleasant feeling of being --- wet. At first, not wanting to emerge from his slumber, he wriggled around in search of a drier spot of grass. When he failed to find one, he finally gave up and resigned himself to the fact that he'd have to wake up. During his sleep, he had thrown his arm across his face to shield it from the sun, and, now, he slowly opened one eye and squinted around his arm and up into the sky. It had been mid-morning or early afternoon when he and Orphen had come to the waterfall, but, now, the sun was very low, and the sky was streaked with red and orange, indicating that they had spent almost the entire day there.

'What in the world was he doing all that time?' Majic wondered absently as he looked toward the waterfall. Suddenly, he realized that his master wasn't sitting under the roaring water anymore and bolted upright in a panic, which quickly subsided as he again became aware of the feeling of --- wet --- soaking through his clothes. He twisted around to look behind him and saw Orphen laying a short distance away, his back facing Majic. The sorcerer, who still wore no shirt, as if he had just emerged from the water, was curled up into a tightly coiled ball, and he was shivering so violently that Majic could hear his teeth chattering together. Water poured off of his skin in little streams and ran the few inches down the hill to pool under Majic, who finally realized that that was the source of the wet feeling that had awakened him.

"Master?" Majic called softly.

When Orphen didn't answer, Majic felt the fear he'd been holding back take hold of him. He crawled on his hands and knees up the small rise and hesitantly put his hand on his master's back. Orphen's skin had been cold ever since his fight with Morph, but, now, it felt like the sorcerer was made of ice. When Majic touched him, Orphen jumped and cried out, as if the boy had struck him. Majic jumped back, shocked at his master's reaction. Carefully, without touching Orphen, Majic leaned over to look into the sorcerer's face. His eyes were closed. It looked like he was asleep, but he whimpered and groaned as if he was in pain or having a nightmare. His skin and lips were tinged with a faint blue color, and he was soaking wet.

Majic frowned and silently cursed himself for not thinking to bring along one of the blankets from their campsite. He looked around, desperately searching for something he could use to help warm Orphen. In the dying daylight, he managed to make out his master's jacket and shirt, which were lying on the pool's bank, right where Orphen had left them before going into the water. After quickly checking Orphen once more, he bolted for the pool and quickly returned with the jacket and shirt. He gently placed the coat over Orphen's bare torso. As its weight settled over him, the sorcerer groaned and struggled against it, but he finally quieted and fell back asleep when Majic gently comforted him.

Majic really wanted to get Orphen back to their campsite, and he knew, now that it was getting dark, that Cleao would be worried about them. He briefly thought about trying to wake Orphen. But, as he watched the older boy sleep, Majic realized that waking him was impossible. He briefly thought about leaving Orphen to go back to camp and let Cleao know where they were, but, he quickly dismissed that idea. He didn't want to risk leaving the young sorcerer alone out here, because he seemed so exposed and fragile lying there. As he watched him sleeping, Majic noticed that Orphen barely even moved, and it was difficult for the boy to even tell that he was breathing. Suddenly, the phrase "sleeping like the dead" popped into his head.

"No," Majic whispered, as he shook his head to rid himself of his disturbing thoughts. "He'll be OK. He just has to be."

Once Orphen settled down, Majic settled back, resigning himself to waiting for the sorcerer to wake up on his own. Finally, haunted by his own fears and nightmares, Majic drifted off into a restless sleep.

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"Get up! Now!" The sound of a strange, harsh voice worked its way into Majic's mind and rattled around until he awoke. At first, he wondered where they were, but, as he opened his eyes to see the full moon and stars twinkling over the waterfall and pool, it all came flooding back to him.

The voice came floating to him once again, through the dark, "I said get up! Right now!"

It didn't dawn on Majic, who was still half asleep, that he didn't recognize the voice. His sleepy mind told him that it was his master calling him, and he slowly stretched and got to his feet, grumbling under his breath, "All right. All right. I'm coming. It's your fault we're still here, so no need to be so damn grouchy with me. I shoulda just left you here last night. Then I coulda slept next to a nice, warm fire. You'd think you'd be a little grateful. Jeez"

Majic finally made it to his feet and turned to face his master, only to realize it hadn't been Orphen calling him. As he turned, Majic came face-to-face with a strange, dark figure. Even though the figure was in shadow, so that he couldn't see its face, Majic could tell it was a man. He could also see that the man was wearing flowing, black robes, and had long, black hair, which was pulled back into a low ponytail. The strange man, who appeared to be very tall, was bending over Orphen. He was holding the sorcerer by the shoulders and shaking him roughly, as if he were trying to wake him.

"GET AWAY FROM HIM!" Majic screamed. Before his mind could convince him of the foolishness of his actions, Majic formed a flame ball on his palm and launched it at Orphen's attacker.

The man didn't even turn to look at Majic. Without releasing Orphen, he put up one hand, palm facing the boy, as if to shield his face from the attack. As the flame ball approached him, the man whispered, "Away." Instantly, the ball dissipated into thin air, and the man turned his attention back to Orphen, continuing to shake him roughly.

Majic felt anger welling up within him, and he prepared to launch a second attack. Before he could manage it, the strange man, still without looking away from Orphen, said quietly, in a tone that barely covered the distance between them, "Stay where you are, boy." Something about the icy tone of this man's voice made Majic do exactly as he said. He felt as if his feet were frozen to the ground, and he could only watch as the man continued to shake and yell at Orphen.

After another few minutes, Orphen moaned softly and put his hand out toward the man, as if to stop the shaking. Seeing that he was finally waking up, the man released the young sorcerer. He was still kneeling on the ground, facing Orphen, but, now, he was just quietly watching as the object of his attention struggled to wake up. As Orphen sat up, swaying, the man reached out to gently steady him and pull the jacket, which had fallen off onto the ground, back up over his bare torso. He gently draped it over Orphen's shoulders, and Majic was surprised to see him smiling.

Majic couldn't understand anything that was going on, but he forced his feet into action, crossing the space separating him from Orphen in just a couple of strides. He skidded to a stop next to the older boy, and quickly knelt to help him sit up.

"Master! Master! Are you OK?" He glared at the stranger, and felt rage building up inside of him when the man just laughed. "He He didn't hurt you, did he?"

Orphen, who had finally managed to clear most of the haze from his mind, reached up and gently ruffled Majic's hair. "It's OK." He turned to look at the strange man kneeling in front of them and said, "Master. You came."

The man shrugged and simply replied, "You called, didn't you?"

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Majic looked around quickly to make sure that he and Orphen were alone. The strange man, who Majic now knew as Orphen's master, Childman, had gone into the woods to find some firewood. Upon seeing Orphen's condition, Childman had immediately conjured a fire, insisting that they had to get the young sorcerer as warm and dry as possible before returning to camp. Since Childman could create fire by using a spell, he suspected that the man had retreated into the woods so that he and Orphen could be alone. But, Majic didn't care and decided to take advantage of the older sorcerer's absence.

"Master," Majic whispered, leaning in close to Orphen so that he didn't have to speak very loudly. "Isn't Childman the one who's been after you all this time? Hasn't he been trying to kill you to stop you from saving Azalie?"

Orphen continued to stare blankly into the fire. Other than a weak shoulder shrug, he gave no indication that he had even heard Majic.

Seeing that his master hadn't immediately bitten his head off, Majic decided to continue to gently pursue the subject. "So, why would you call him? Do you really think this is such a good idea?"

Orphen replied, "Don't know. The Tower of Fang has been after me, but I never really knew about Childman. He raised me. He's my master. I have to trust him. It's the only option now."

"But Master," Majic began, only to be cut off by a wave of Orphen's hand.

"I'm tired, Majic," he snapped irritably, "Leave me alone." He pulled his jacket closer to him, but it did little to stop his shivering.

Seeing that his master's patience was finally wearing thin, Majic wisely decided to let the subject drop. A sound from the direction of the forest brought his attention away from Orphen, and he watched silently as Childman returned from the woods --- without any firewood. The tall sorcerer skirted the fire and silently approached Orphen. Kneeling in front of the young sorcerer, Childman reached out and gently cupped his hand under Orphen's chin and tilted his face toward the fire so that he could look into his student's eyes. Although Majic had to fight the urge to protect his master, Orphen didn't flinch away from Childman's touch. He barely gave any indication that he was aware of what was happening, and he didn't even look at Childman, but just continued to stare blankly into the fire with dull, tired eyes. Childman simply frowned and rose to move to the other side of the fire, facing Majic and Orphen, the flames licking into the air between them.

"You really look like hell, Krylancelo. What did you get yourself into this time?" he asked as he sat down, cross-legged, on the ground across from them.

Wordlessly, Orphen reached into his jacket pocket and removed a page he had torn from one of the books back in the library cavern. He was unable to control his shaking hands as he passed the paper around the fire to his teacher. Childman frowned, but he didn't say anything. Only his eyes betrayed the worry he felt, and he gently steadied his student's hands as he took the paper and unfolded it. When he finally saw what was on the paper Orphen had handed him, Childman's eyes widened in shock and surprise. He held the paper up so that it was facing Majic and Orphen, and Majic quickly recognized the drawing of Morph that they had located in the library cavern.

"This?" he asked, his voice suddenly going deadly serious, and his eyes snapping with anger. "Is this true?" Orphen just nodded in response. "How long?!" Childman snapped.

Orphen didn't respond, and Childman, his anger building, reached right through the flames to grab the front of his student's jacket. "Answer me!" he yelled. "HOW LONG?!"

Majic, surprised at the man's reaction, replied, "Nine, maybe ten days?"

Immediately, Childman stood and waved his hand, instantly putting out the fire. He paused for a moment to give Orphen a look that seemed almost sad before saying, "Get up. We have to go." When he saw Orphen struggling to get to his feet, he gently pulled the young sorcerer into a standing position, and, in a softer voice, said, "We must hurry. There's no time to waste."

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You know what? I really don't like this. Not at all," Cleao whispered to Majic.

They were at the riverside campsite Orphen had picked out upon exiting the tunnel. He and Cleao were sitting on one side of their campfire, and Orphen was lying on the ground between them, asleep. Majic couldn't help but smile as he remembered the look on Cleao's face when he and Orphen had returned to the campsite with Childman. Orphen had been so exhausted that the older sorcerer had had to practically carry him. Majic had never seen Cleao shocked into speechlessness, but, when Childman had walked into the circle of firelight to dump Orphen on the ground next to her, she had just stared at him, her mouth open in surprise. The younger sorcerer had fallen asleep almost as soon as he hit the ground, so Majic had been forced to make the introductions. Even when Childman had greeted her pleasantly and held out his hand, Cleao had had nothing to say. She had just continued to stare at him, her eyes wide and her mouth open. Majic almost laughed, but he thought better of it. He could tell that Childman's appearance and Orphen's deteriorating condition had put Cleao on edge, and she could be pretty scary when she was angry.

Childman. Majic turned his thoughts toward their unexpected guest. He could clearly see the man, who was sitting across from them, through the flames. Orphen's teacher had just finished eating the meal Cleao had reluctantly offered him, and he was soaking up the remains of the stew on his plate with a piece of bread. Majic had to admit that he, like Cleao, was a little unnerved at having the older sorcerer in their camp. After all, he, Orphen, and Cleao had spent the past few months running from the Tower of Fang and Childman. Although Majic had never actually met Childman before now, he had come to fear this man who professed to want his master dead. He shot a look sideways at Cleao, and the look in her eyes told him that she felt the same way.

"Well?" Cleao hissed under her breath, shooting an angry look sideways at Majic.

"Well, what?" Majic whispered back.

"It's not a good idea," she said.

"It wasn't your decision," Childman said, from across the fire. The sound of his voice, intruding on their conversation, made both Majic and Cleao jump. The older sorcerer laughed at their reaction, and continued, "Krylancelo called me. That is the only reason I'm here."

He slowly got up and walked around the fire, tossing his plate onto the ground near Majic and Cleao's used dishes as he walked toward them. He stopped directly in front of the two blondes. He was a very tall man, and he towered over them. Both Majic and Cleao involuntarily scooted backward, away from his imposing physical presence, but, as Childman knelt down and reached out toward Orphen, Majic jumped forward and tried to place himself physically in between their new guest and the younger sorcerer, in an attempt to somehow protect his unconscious master from what he perceived as a threat.

Childman frowned at the boy's reaction and snapped, "I don't bite, boy. There's no need to be so nervous. As sick as he is, his life would end soon enough without me helping it along. If I wanted to hurt him, I just wouldn't have come. How long since he last ate?" He looked from Majic to Cleao, and, when they just sat there and stared at him, he snapped, impatiently, "Well? Are you both mute?"

"I I d don't know, M master Childman," Majic stammered, practically choking on the "master" part of the sentence. "Several days. Three, maybe four?" he said slowly, looking at Cleao for confirmation and getting no help whatsoever from her.

Childman pushed Majic aside and, gently, shook Orphen awake. "Krylancelo. Krylancelo. Get up. You need to eat something." When his student didn't respond or move, he urged again, "Come on, now, wake up Krylancelo." Majic thought he could hear a note of panic creeping into the older sorcerer's voice, and it surprised him.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity to Majic, Orphen stirred, grumbling for them to leave him alone. Once the young sorcerer began to wake up, Majic thought he saw, in the dim firelight, a smile play across Childman's face. The boy shook his head, telling himself that he had to be mistaken. It couldn't be possible that the one sorcerer who had been pursuing them for months would actually be happy that Orphen was still alive.

"Here." Cleao's voice came out of the darkness over Majic's head, causing him to jump. He moved aside as the girl handed Childman a plate of stew. The older sorcerer nodded his thanks and pulled Orphen into a sitting position as he moved into the spot where Cleao had been sitting moments before. Majic wondered exactly when she had gotten up to get the food as he watched the girl stalk to the other side of the fire and sit down, staring hostilely at Childman the entire time.

"Come on. At least try to eat something."

Childman's voice brought Majic's attention away from Cleao and back to the two sorcerers sitting near him. He watched in surprise as Childman gently pushed the plate of food into Orphen's hands and tried to coax him into eating. At first, Orphen pushed the plate away, but, when Childman gently pushed it back, the younger sorcerer took it without protesting. As Orphen tried to eat, his hands began shaking uncontrollably, spilling most of the food onto the ground. Majic turned away quickly to hide the tears that came to his eyes. Orphen was always so strong and confident, and seeing him like this broke Majic's heart. When he got his emotions under control, he turned back toward the two men sitting next to him, thinking that he would try to help his master eat. Majic was shocked to see that Childman had already pulled Orphen over so that the young sorcerer was leaning against him. Wordlessly, the older man encircled Majic's master with his arms and gently helped still his shaking hands so that Orphen could finally eat. After eating most of the food on the plate, Orphen fell asleep cradled in Childman's arms like a small boy. 

Majic stared at Childman. His voice was soft and gentle, and his laughter was friendly and honest, just like Orphen's. This man, who was his master's teacher, was nothing like Majic had imagined he would be. He had always pictured Childman, who had been pursuing them for months, as some kind of bloodthirsty madman, but this man didn't seem like that at all. Watching him with Orphen was like watching a father care for a sick child, and it reminded Majic of his own childhood and of times when his own father had cared for him or comforted him. He couldn't understand Childman at all, and he was beginning to realize why Orphen always seemed so mysterious, and why the young sorcerer was so good at hiding his emotions and pain. He knew that the Tower of Fang had raised his master, but Orphen had also told him, during a moment of unguarded conversation, that Childman had been the one individual largely responsible for his upbringing. Even though they had been running from the older sorcerer for months, Majic had never gotten the sense that Orphen was afraid of him. Instead, the young sorcerer always seemed incredibly angry and bitter toward Childman. Now, Majic was beginning to understand that Orphen's hatred toward the older man came from feeling that he had been betrayed by someone he had loved deeply --- by someone he had loved like a father. Although Orphen had been fighting to hide it, Majic knew his own master well enough to tell that the young sorcerer felt his life was coming to an end. The fact that Childman was the one person Orphen turned to for help at this --- the lowest point in his life --- proved to Majic that his master had once loved this man. Majic was shocked at the realization that Orphen felt the same way about Childman that he felt about Orphen, and, for the first time since meeting his master, he thought that, just maybe, he had finally gained some insight into the young sorcerer's feelings. He just prayed that Childman really could save his master.


	8. Chapter 8

CHAPTER 8 

A scraping sound awoke Majic. He turned over onto his back and slowly sat up, rubbing his eyes and shielding his face from the sun, which was just beginning to peek over one of the hills near their campsite. He was surprised to see Orphen staring back at him with a surprised look on his face. He had interrupted his master in the midst of packing some of their food into a small satchel. Majic was surprised that the young sorcerer was even awake. Orphen looked thin, pale, and exhausted --- as if he would fall over at the first hard gust of wind. Childman had managed to get almost an entire plate of food into the younger sorcerer the night before, but Orphen's clothes hung off of him. When he looked at Majic, his eyes were tired and dull, and it seemed as if it took a couple of seconds for him to realize who the boy was.

"Master, what's going on? Are you going somewhere?" Majic asked. He looked around the campsite, but didn't see any sign of Childman. "Did Master Childman leave?"

Orphen shook his head. "Sorry about waking you up. I'm going. I thought I'd be able to leave without waking anyone," he said slowly, glancing nervously over toward the fire's remains, where Cleao was still sleeping. "But, I guess I'm not quite myself --- a little clumsy, you know." He smiled --- probably the first genuine smile Majic had seen from him in over a week, and the boy couldn't help but smile back in response.

As Orphen returned to his packing, Majic suddenly realized what he had just said, and he started having a very bad feeling. "What do you mean you're leaving?" When Orphen just continued to pack without responding to his question, Majic leaned forward and grabbed the young sorcerer's arm, causing Orphen to flinch. Majic immediately removed his hand and stared at the ugly, purple bruise already forming on his master's arm. "Sorry, Master," he said, staring down at the ground. When he continued, it was in a soft, pleading tone. "Please, answer me. You have to stop ignoring me. Please. I deserve to know. Are you going by yourself?"

Orphen stopped packing and sat down next to Majic. He leaned over slightly, bumping the boy affectionately with his shoulder, and then reached over to ruffle Majic's hair. "Majic, I'm sorry. I'm really sorry for for all of the crap that you and Cleao are going through. All of this " his voice trailed off tiredly as he waved his hand, as if to indicate the surrounding area, but Majic knew he was really talking about all of the events leading up to that moment, and, possibly, events yet to occur. "It's my fault," he continued. "I really screwed up this time, didn't I?" He laughed --- a tired, bitter sound that was completely unlike the laugh Majic knew.

Orphen's words caused Majic's stomach to fall like a stone. It was so unlike the young sorcerer to ever take blame for anything that happened. Orphen was self-assured, confident, and cocky to the point of being arrogant, and the boy couldn't ever remember hearing him talk in such an open, humble, almost defeated manner. Now, Majic was hearing Orphen apologize, for the first time since he had known him, and it frightened him more than anything he had experienced during his travels with the young sorcerer.

"No, Master!" Majic exclaimed, struggling to keep his voice low so that he wouldn't wake Cleao. He knew that, if the girl woke up to find Orphen trying to sneak out of camp, she would go absolutely ballistic. That was the last thing either of them wanted to suffer through, especially this early in the morning. Majic gripped Orphen's arms, gently, carefully, so that he wouldn't hurt his master again, and turned the young sorcerer so that they were eye-to-eye. "None of this is your fault! How can you think that? That Morph thing " He paused and quickly wiped tears from his eyes before continuing, "That thing wanted me, Master. You did what you did because of me. If you hadn't, I'd be dead, and, probably Cleao, too. If it's anyone's fault, it's mine. I woke that thing up. I was the one who wasn't strong enough to "

"Enough," Orphen's flat, angry voice cut Majic off in mid-sentence. "I don't want to hear that from you, Majic. It's not your fault. You're only the student. I'm the master --- I knew something was in there. I shoulda made you guys leave."

"But, Master," Majic started to protest. He stopped when Orphen waved his hand, silently indicating that he didn't want to hear any more.

"I don't want you guys to have to go through any more of this, so I'm doing the only thing left. Master is meditating by the waterfall. When he comes back, I'm going to leave with him. I'm I'm sorry for leaving you guys like this. It'll only be for a few days three, maybe four five at the most. You can wait here if you want, or there is a town nearby. I'm sure you could both find your way home from there. It's up to you."

Majic felt a small glimmer of hope, like a shaft of sunlight cutting through the darkness that had engulfed him ever since Orphen was injured. "Master, do you mean that there is a cure --- that he Childman can cure you?"

"There is one thing that might work. He's the only one who can do it. When I called him I didn't know if he'd come. There's been a lot of bad blood between us in the last five years. But, in the end I guess he's still my master." Orphen sighed and stood unsteadily to return to his packing. Without looking back at Majic, he said, softly, "If if I don't make it, Majic, Master said he'd come back for you and Cleao. He promised me he'd take you to the Tower to finish your training, and that he'd get Cleao home safely."

As the meaning behind what Orphen was telling him sank in, Majic felt his little glimmer of hope getting smaller and smaller until it finally dissolved completely. He reached over and grabbed at his master's hand to stop him from packing for a moment. "Master master please. Please, you have to let us come with you. You can't you can't just leave us like this." He knew his begging would make Orphen angry, but he didn't care. He couldn't stand the thought that, if he watched his master walk away this morning with Childman, he might never see him again.

Orphen didn't reply or even turn around to look at Majic, and the boy felt his heart drop. He knew the young sorcerer was about to tell him "no", when a new voice broke into the conversation.

"It won't be fun, boy. It's something you shouldn't see that Krylancelo doesn't want you to see."

Majic looked up to see Childman approaching them. The tall sorcerer, dressed in his customary long, black robes, was walking slowly toward them as he returned from his morning meditation. His dragon amulet, identical to the one Orphen always wore, swung from side-to-side as he walked, glinting in the weak morning sunlight. Majic could see the kind look in the older man's eyes, and he knew that, with Childman here, he just might have a chance of changing Orphen's mind.

"But," Majic searched his mind desperately, trying to come up with the most persuasive argument possible. Finding that he couldn't think of a reason that would be good enough to persuade Orphen, he finished weakly, "But I have to go."

Childman laughed as he sat down near the burned-out fire. "Not a very creative argument," he said, looking at Orphen with a fondness that Majic still found surprising. "He's just like you were at that age, Krylancelo."Orphen turned and gave Childman a dirty look. "How the hell would you know, old man?" he asked with a bitter laugh. "By the time I was his age," he jerked his head toward Majic, which made him dizzy, and he had to pause to regain his balance before continuing, "I was on my own away from the Tower of Fang and you."

Childman smiled calmly and tucked his hands into the sleeves of his robe. "You always were a bit slow, Krylancelo. You were never on your own." He nodded toward Cleao and told Majic, "Wake the girl, boy. You both need to know everything before you decide to come with us."

"Master!" Orphen snapped. "I said they aren't coming, and that's final."

Majic hesitated, but, when Childman again told him to wake Cleao, he jumped up to do as he had been instructed, trying hard to ignore the smoldering, angry look in Orphen's eyes.

**********************************************************************

Cleao was incensed at being awakened so early in the morning, and, to top it all off, Orphen asked her to cook breakfast for Childman. Majic knew that, had Orphen not been so sick, Cleao would have hit him with the skillet. Instead, she choked down her anger and made breakfast. Majic managed to contain his impatience as he watched Childman slowly eat his meal, but, now that the older sorcerer was finished eating and just sitting, silently staring at the fire, he couldn't contain himself any longer.

"Well?!" he snapped.

Childman looked at Majic as if he were a small, slow child. "Well, what, boy?" The older sorcerer laughed as Majic frowned in frustration. Then, he turned to Orphen, who was sitting on the other side of the fire, and asked, "Are you going to tell them, Krylancelo?"

Orphen didn't reply. He just continued to stare angrily into the flames.

"Fine," the older man said. "I'll tell them, then. You know they have a right to know. They care about you, Krylancelo, although I can see, as always, you don't make that an easy task." He paused for a moment, as if he was waiting for Orphen to break down and speak, but, when the younger sorcerer still said nothing, he continued, "There is a way that might save him, but, it's a long shot. The poison and losing his magical powers may have already damaged his heart. And, it will be painful for everyone involved. That's why he wanted to leave you behind."

"Enough of this crap," Cleao snapped. Her voice cut through the tension like a knife. "I'm so damn sick of all of this magic, mysterious, mumbo-jumbo crap. Just tell us already."

"I'll have to die."

Majic and Cleao both jumped at the sound of Orphen's voice. Without looking away from the fire, the young sorcerer repeated, "I'll have to die."

"NO!" Cleao yelled, jumping up from her seat next to Orphen. She angrily shoved him, knocking him roughly to the ground.

"Cleao!" Majic exclaimed as he jumped forward to help Orphen back to a sitting position. "Be careful. You're going to hurt him."

"Sorry," the girl mumbled as she resumed her seat. She gently reached out and stroked Orphen's arm. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to get so upset. It's just " She paused and quickly wiped away tears that suddenly appeared in her eyes, and she turned a pleading look toward Orphen. "There's got to be a better way. Orphen, please. There's got to be a better way."

"There's no other way, girl," Childman responded before Orphen could say anything. "If his heart is undamaged, I can bring him back. The resurrection spell is difficult and draining. There is a place, called Dolwarn, which is a few days' journey from here. It is a place where magic is amplified, and, as such, it is sacred to all sorcerers. I have to be in that place to perform the spell. If I wait for too long after he dies, it won't work. That's why there's no time to lose."

"And that's why you two can't come," Orphen finished. "I've already put you through too much. I can't I can't let you see me die. And, if it doesn't work" He looked at the ground without finishing his sentence.

"I don't care." Cleao said flatly. "I only care about you, Orphen. We're a team, and we're not breaking up now. We've come too far."

"She's right, Master," Majic added. He knew Orphen well enough to tell that the young sorcerer was not wavering in his decision. "Master, if it was you if it was Master Childman who was sick, what would you do?"

Orphen slowly, unsteadily, rose from his seat next to the fire. "All right. You can come," he said softly as he turned away to finish packing.

****


	9. Chapter 9

CHAPTER 9 

Majic squinted up into the high, bright sun, using his arm to shield his face from its rays. It looked like it was probably close to noon, judging from the way the sun sat in the clear, blue sky. He was starving. He glanced over at Cleao, who was walking next to him, and knew that she was ready for a break, too. The girl was pale and exhausted, and she looked as if she would be unable to take another step. Orphen was stumbling along slightly behind them. Majic didn't even have to turn his head to pinpoint the young sorcerer's position. He could hear his master's feet slipping and skidding over the rocks as he tripped and almost fell again and again, just barely managing to catch himself in time to prevent a nasty spill onto the grassy, rocky mountain slope, and his breath came in short, ragged gasps that, to Majic's ears, sounded almost painful. Majic recognized that rattling sound. It was the sound of the walking dead --- of someone who was on their way to leaving this world. He knew his master was struggling to breathe, and it amazed him that Orphen was even still on his feet. Majic shook his head slowly as he thought that he had never met anyone whose will was as strong as his master's. He knew it was willpower alone that kept the young sorcerer stumbling forward now.

Majic sighed. He wanted to ask for a rest break, and, perhaps, time to eat something, but he knew it wouldn't do any good. He looked forward again, only to see Childman's back. The tall sorcerer, headmaster of the Tower of Fang, walked a short distance in front of them. For three days now, Majic had seen nothing but Childman's back, ramrod straight, long black ponytail swinging from side-to-side in its middle. For three days Childman had led them into the mountains, not stopping to rest or eat, and urging them forward at a breakneck pace over the rising, rocky, uneven mountain terrain. Majic had begun to feel that the entire world had disappeared, leaving only this man's black-robed back walking in front of him, and the boy had started to despise the sight of it. He was tired of this endless walking, tired of being hungry, tired of seeing Cleao so exhausted, and, mostly, tired of listening to his master slowly dying as they trudged forward, higher and higher into the mountains. Majic was so angry at the older sorcerer. He fought back the urge to launch a series of flame balls at the straight, strong back in front of him, and choked back the thought that had been plaguing him for the past three days --- that, instead of having a cure for Orphen, Childman was attempting to assure the young sorcerer's demise by leading them on this wild goose chase up into the mountains. Majic shook his head in an attempt to dispel these dark thoughts. "No," he told himself, "it's not true. Master trusts Master Childman, and I trust Master. So, it will all be OK. It has to be."

Just as Majic was about to make what he knew would be a futile attempt at getting Childman to let them rest, the older sorcerer suddenly stopped. Majic, lost in thought and not paying attention, didn't realize their expedition leader had halted until he smacked into Childman's back. The force of the impact hurled Majic to the ground. He stood up, rubbing his sore rear end, and, in an uncharacteristic outburst probably caused by his exhaustion, fear, and frustration, snapped, "Hey! What's the big idea? For days you go on and on like a madman, never letting us stop, and, now, you stop right in the middle of the path, knocking me down!"

Childman turned and gave Majic one of the same smug, "teacher" smiles that Orphen was always giving him --- the kind of smile that said he was so clever and you, the student, were just a small, dull child. "If you had been paying attention, boy, you would have seen me stop. Falling down was your own fault. A sorcerer always has to have his wits about him. You have a great gift, boy, but you rely on it too much. You're just like my own idiotic student was at your age. I didn't understand it before, but, now, I can see why he's so devoted to you."

Majic gave Childman a shocked, surprised look. He turned to watch Orphen slowly, painfully struggling up the rocky path. The young sorcerer was breathing in ragged, painful gasps, and, despite the chilly mountain air, he was covered in sweat. He limped along like an old man, leaning heavily on a thick staff Childman had conjured for him. Majic knew, without a doubt, even though he could never say it out loud, that he loved Orphen. The young sorcerer had become like a substitute father or some kind of big brother to him in the months they had traveled together, and he knew he would follow his master anywhere --- even to the very gates of Hell. But, he had never really thought that Orphen cared much about him, although he had often found it strange that the young sorcerer even let him stay with him. Majic felt that he often got in the way, and he knew that there had been many times when Orphen would have been much better off on his own. This latest run-in with that Morph thing was a prime example. Yet, Orphen had never insisted that he or Cleao leave, a fact that Majic found astounding. But, he had never thought of it as being "devotion".

Majic turned his attention back to Childman, thinking that he would make some sort of response, but his words died on his lips as he saw the older sorcerer's expression. Childman was also watching Orphen struggle up the path toward them. Majic could see the frustration, anger, and fear in the older man's eyes, and he suddenly realized that letting Orphen slowly die was as hard for Childman as it was for him --- maybe even harder. Majic decided to not question the older sorcerer's comment. Childman obviously knew what it meant for a teacher to be devoted to his student. Even though he had been pursuing Orphen on the orders of the Tower of Fang, Majic could tell that he still cared deeply for the younger sorcerer. Majic could see a father's pain peeking out of Childman's dark, guarded eyes --- the one small indication that this man, who seemed as cold and hard as ice, had a very human soul with very human feelings and emotions. Majic decided that, if he hadn't learned anything else from this adventure, at least he had realized that outward appearances can be very deceptive.

Finally, after what seemed like a thousand years, Orphen reached Childman and Majic. He stood, head down and panting heavily, leaning unsteadily on his staff. As he swayed and almost fell, both Majic and Childman automatically reached out to catch him. Their eyes met briefly over Orphen's bowed head before Childman looked away.

"M master ," Orphen panted slowly, "we need to stop. Cleao's too tired to go on." He pointed a little beyond them and off to Majic's left side. The boy turned to see that Cleao had slumped, exhausted, to a sitting position on the ground, her heavy pack dumped unceremoniously beside her, almost as soon as they had halted.

As Orphen swayed again, Childman caught him and eased him into a sitting position on the ground, supporting the younger sorcerer's back with his arm. "Frankly, Krylancelo," he said, slowly checking Orphen's wounds and pulse, "I'm a bit more concerned about you. I don't think you can go any farther." He looked from Orphen, to Majic, and then to Cleao and frowned. "Actually, you all look as if you're ready to drop. Three days with no rest and little food. I shouldn't have pushed you all forward like this. I'm sorry. It's just "

His voice trailed off as Orphen shook his head and said, "No, Master. You were right. Time " He paused as a wave of pain passed through his body, and then continued, placing his hand on Childman's, which rested on his shoulder, "time is of the essence." He looked directly into the older sorcerer's eyes and said, quietly, "I I don't think I don't think I can hold on much longer."

Childman nodded his understanding, and then turned to Majic, "The girl is too tired to continue on. There's a town nearby. I'll take her there, and we will return for her in a few days. We won't be able to stop to rest anymore after this. How are you, boy?"

Majic knew the older sorcerer could tell that he was about ready to drop from exhaustion, and he knew that Childman was offering him a way out. He knew Orphen wouldn't blame him for stopping and staying in the town with Cleao. Majic slowly shook his head and replied, "I'm tired, Master Childman. But, I'm not leaving him."

Childman nodded and motioned Majic forward, indicating that the boy should take his place beside Orphen. Majic did as he was instructed, and Childman re-positioned the young sorcerer so that he was leaning against the boy. "All right. Stay here with Krylancelo, then. I'll take the girl to the town and get her settled in an inn. I'll be back in a few moments."

Majic nodded and watched as Childman walked over, and gently picked up Cleao. He disappeared in a shimmer of reddish light, with the exhausted girl cradled protectively in his arms.

**********************************************************

Majic sighed and quickly surveyed their surroundings. They were in a meadow in the foothills at the base of a very large mountain. Although they were surrounded by green grass, which spread as far as Majic could see, the landscape was dotted with rocks and large boulders, making it look surreal and other-worldly. Finally, Majic spotted one boulder of sufficient size and mass.

"Come on, Master," Majic grunted, lifting Orphen from the ground. "Let's go sit over next to that boulder, OK?" He half-carried, half-dragged his master toward the large boulder. He didn't think that Childman would be gone for a very long time, but he was exhausted, and Orphen was heavy. He didn't think he had the strength to support the young sorcerer even for the few minutes it would take the older man to deposit Cleao at the inn.

"There you go," Majic said, panting from the effort of hauling his master over the small stretch of ground to his chosen resting spot. He gently eased Orphen down into a sitting position on the boulder's shady side, so that the young sorcerer was leaning back against the rock. "How's that," he asked as Orphen settled into a fairly comfortable position.

"Mmmm. Thanks, Majic," Orphen mumbled. He slumped forward, to hold his head in his hands. "Damn, it's cold up here, isn't it? We're not even that high up. Who woulda thought it'd be so damn cold?" he muttered, half to himself. He wrapped his arms around his body in an attempt to stop the violent shivering that seemed to have taken control of his body.

Majic rose and quickly made his way to Cleao's pack, which had been left behind when Childman spirited her away. Although he normally carried the backpack, Cleao had volunteered for pack duty so that Majic would have his hands free to help Orphen, if necessary. The boy dragged the heavy satchel over to where Orphen was sitting. He couldn't remember the bag being this heavy before, and thought, 'No wonder Cleao was so exhausted. This thing weighs a ton.' Suddenly, he stopped in his tracks as a new thought hit him, 'Shit! With her gone, I'm gonna have to carry this stupid thing! I shoulda gone with her.' Remembering the task at hand, he shook off his thoughts, and began to rummage through the bag.

"This'll just take a minute, Master," Majic muttered as he searched through the backpack. Finally, he found one of their blankets, and he wrapped it around Orphen's shivering body. "How's that?"

"S'okay," Orphen replied. He lifted his head slightly to look at his student. "Seems like something's bothering you. Are you feeling OK?" He reached up to slide his hand under Majic's bangs so that he could feel the boy's forehead. "You're not getting sick, are you? I shoulda made you go with Cleao. This is too hard on you."

"Master, it's OK. I'm fine. I feel fine," Majic replied. He couldn't believe his master, who was so sick, was sitting here worrying about him. He could feel Orphen's hand trembling as it rested against his forehead, and he reached up to gently take hold of it. "I was just thinking that, now that Cleao's gone, I'm going to have to carry that darn backpack," he said, laughing softly. "Selfish, huh?"

Orphen laughed in response, "No way, that thing's damn heavy. Why do you think I always make you guys carry it? I swear, that woman takes everything but the kitchen sink with her when she travels. And, she's always shopping --- like she really needs any more crap. I'll never understand her. She really is the most irritating girl." He shook his head, as if trying to figure out exactly why he let Cleao hang around, but Majic could see the slight smile that played across his master's face. He knew, even if Orphen had yet to figure it out, that the young sorcerer cared about Cleao --- even if she was a loud, angry, ditzy broad. "Guess I'm getting pretty soft in my old age, huh? Ever since I met you " His voice trailed off as he started to cough.

Majic frowned as Orphen doubled over from the coughing fit. It seemed to suck all of his energy. Majic pulled the young sorcerer over so that Orphen's head rested in his lap, and he gently held him as the dry, heaving coughs made his body shudder and shake. He was surprised when the young sorcerer didn't fight him or try to pull away from his embrace, and he was shocked at how thin and frail Orphen's body had become. The sorcerer's loose clothing had effectively hidden it from their view, but he had become nothing more than skin and bones. Now, holding him like this, Majic could feel each and every bone in Orphen's body.

Finally, the coughing stopped, leaving Orphen exhausted and gasping for breath. "Are you OK, Master?" he asked softly.

Orphen didn't try to free himself from Majic's embrace. He shifted slightly to a more comfortable position and leaned heavily against the boy, replying, "Majic, it won't be much longer now. I can feel it coming. I never never wanted you to go through this." He clenched his teeth against a wave of pain that coursed through his body, and slowly continued, "I know this is like when your mom died. You shouldn't have to go through that twice. Why why didn't you leave when I said?"

Majic's arms tightened protectively around the young sorcerer, and he choked back his tears. What Orphen said was the truth. His mother had died when he was very young, but he could still remember how she had been sick for a long time, how his father had sat next to her bed, crying and holding her hand, and how he had begged her to not leave him. He had been remembering it ever since Orphen was first injured in the fight with Morph, and, in his mind, he had once again become that same scared, little boy. As always, he was surprised at how well Orphen knew him. He couldn't believe that his master, even so close to death, had been able to read his thoughts so easily.

"I I just couldn't leave you, Master. Remember that time when I accidentally ate those poisonous mushrooms?"

Orphen laughed softly, and said, almost to himself, "Oh, man! I've never seen anyone so sick in my whole damn life. You were out of it with a fever for days." He paused as another coughing fit shook his body. "I never said, but I was really scared. I can't remember ever being that scared. I really thought you weren't gonna make it " His voice trailed off, as if he was remembering that time.

"And," Majic said, resting his chin gently on the top of Orphen's head, "you stayed up with me the whole time I was sick. I remember waking up and seeing you," Majic smiled as he remembered waking up to see Orphen's pale, haggard face staring down at him, "and you just looked like hell. I thought you were the one who was sick! And, you remember that time we were up in those high cliffs and that wizard attacked us?" When Orphen didn't answer, Majic panicked slightly and gently shook the young sorcerer, "Do you, Master? Do you remember?"

"Yeah," Orphen mumbled, his voice was barely a whisper. "How could I forget? That damn wizard he was strong. He fired an energy blast caused a landslide. You got caught in it swept off a cliff. I thought you were a goner for sure."

"But," Majic interrupted, "you used your power to catch me before I fell. But, because of that, you couldn't protect yourself, and he hit you with that powerful spell." He swallowed back tears as he remembered seeing his master hit with the full force of the wizard's attack, which swept him off of the very same cliff from which he'd saved Majic just moments before. He remembered how he and Cleao had desperately searched for Orphen, finally finding him unconscious, bruised, and battered, under a pile of rubble. "Those times, and so many others --- more than I can even count, Master, you could have left me, and avoided being hurt or " his voice trailed off as he swallowed before continuing, "scared. But you never did." 

"I couldn't Majic. I just couldn't."

"Right," Majic replied, pulling Orphen closer to him. He could feel his master slowly, quietly slipping away, and tears traced tracks down his cheeks to fall in the young sorcerer's thick, brown hair. He choked back a sob, and said, quietly, "Because you're my master. I know you try to hide it but I know you care about me and Cleao about what happens to us. And, that's why I couldn't leave, either." Majic finally gave up on fighting back his sobs. He hadn't wanted Orphen to know how scared and sad he was, but he just couldn't hold it back any longer. He gave in to the urge he'd been struggling against ever since Orphen first got hurt and sobbed openly. He could feel his body shaking with each anguished cry, and the teas poured off of his face to soak into Orphen's hair. After several minutes, he managed to bring himself under control once again, and he managed to gasp out, "Besides, we made it through, right?" His voice grew stronger as he formulated his thought into a coherent sentence, as if, by saying it just right, his wish would act like a spell to make everything right --- to put everything back the way it should be. "Each of those times, it was bad, and we made it through. We always do, right?"

"Majic," Orphen mumbled. His voice was so soft, and his words were slurred so that Majic had to strain to hear them, even though he still held the sorcerer in his arms. Orphen reached up, as if he was going to ruffle Majic's hair, as he always did when he wanted to comfort the boy, but he didn't have enough strength left. His hand fell limply to the ground, and Majic jumped at the slight thudding noise it made as it hit the dirt.

Majic could hear Orphen's breathing slowing --- one labored, strangled breath, then a pause, while the young blonde held his own breath, silently praying that there would be one more, then another breath, then another pause, and, then nothing. As the sound of Orphen's last breath died out, Majic tightened his grip on the young sorcerer again, as if he could prevent him from dying just by hanging on tightly enough. But, he knew it was useless. Through his master's thin body, Majic could feel his heart slowing. Suddenly, he was that same little boy who had thrown himself across his mother's dying body, begging her not to leave him. He sobbed, lowering his face into Orphen's thick hair and choked out, in a muffled voice, "Please please, Master. Please don't don't leave me."

"I'm sorry Majic. I can't. Take care of Cleao, and tell her I'm sorry," Orphen whispered. And, then, he was gone.

************************************************************************

Majic didn't know how long he sat there, crying and cradling his master's body. It was as if time had stopped for him with the last beat of Orphen's heart. This wasn't right. He kept telling himself that this wasn't right. It couldn't be right. He couldn't be sitting here holding his master's dead body. But, deep inside his heart, he knew. He knew, even though he tried to fool himself, that it was true, and nothing would ever be right again.

Slowly, Majic became aware of someone gently shaking him and calling to him. He looked up into Childman's face. The older sorcerer's eyes were dark with worry, fear, and grief, and Majic was surprised to see tears there.

"Boy. Boy, are you all right?" he called softly, hoping to snap Majic out of the shock that had taken hold of him. He had felt the ripple when Krylancelo had died. It was always thus when a sorcerer died. Any other sorcerer could feel his passing. But, even if he hadn't felt it for himself, he would have known the moment he saw the boy. He had reappeared near them after getting the girl settled in the town inn, and he had immediately seen Majic, sobbing and rocking back and forth, cradling Krylancelo's still body. Childman reached out to gently push the younger sorcerer's hair out of his face and smiled even as tears came to his eyes. Krylancelo never had been able to manage his unruly hair. Childman could remember him as a young boy, younger than Majic, protesting as Azalie tried to comb the tangles out of that mane of thick, dark hair. Azalie. Before turning into the magical dragon she was now, she had been a very powerful sorceress, and like a sister to Krylancelo and a daughter ... and, though he had barely dared to even hope it --- maybe more than a daughter ... to him. Now, they were both gone --- lost to him --- and he didn't know if he could save either one. He felt grief ripping his heart in two, and he wondered bitterly if the Council at the Tower of Fang had been able to feel Krylancelo's death, too, and, if so, whether they were satisfied. 

Majic looked up at him with eyes that were puffy and red from crying. When Childman looked into the boy's face, he saw fear, grief, anguish, and abandonment. His heart immediately went out to Majic, as he recognized that expression. Suddenly, it was as if they were years into the past, and he was looking into Krylancelo's eyes on the day Azalie became the dragon. The expression he had seen in Krylancelo's face --- like an abandoned, cornered wild animal --- was the same look that now assaulted him from Majic. Childman silently wondered why he had to live through this again. Sometimes, when he had been pursuing Krylancelo, knowing that the boy he had raised, the boy he so loved, hated him, Childman had thought he was being punished, perhaps for some transgression he had committed in a previous life. But, he didn't think he could have ever done anything that was deserving of this kind of punishment, this kind of torture. He fought the urge to look away as Majic desperately grabbed at the front of his robes.

"M master Childman," Majic sobbed, "He's gone. My master he's dead."

Childman couldn't think of any words to comfort the boy, so, as he had done all those years ago for Krylancelo, he wordlessly hugged Majic to him, letting the boy sob freely into his chest, without trying to comfort him, until he felt hot tears soaking through his robes. Finally, after thirty or forty minutes, the boy's sobs began to subside, and, slowly, his body stopped shaking. Childman gently pushed Majic away, and, closing his eyes, he laid his hand lightly on Orphen's chest and began to softly chant a spell that was completely unfamiliar to Majic.

Majic watched in amazement, his crying silenced, as Orphen's skin began to glow with Childman's continued chanting. Slowly, as the strange spell climaxed, the glow increased, spreading over Orphen's limp body, which was curled up, still cradled within the protective circle of Majic's arms. The glow became a blinding white light and, then, quickly faded with the ending of Childman's chant.

As the chant and glowing light faded, Childman gently placed his hand against Orphen's head. When he looked into Majic's face, the boy saw tears in his eyes, but he was also smiling. He gently pried Majic's arms from around Orphen and rose from his kneeling position, carefully lifting the young sorcerer's limp body as he stood, carefully shifting around so that it was cradled in his arms, like a limp doll. Without turning to look at Majic, Childman walked away, calling over his shoulder, "Come on, boy. There may still be hope, but we must hurry. There's not much time."


	10. Chapter 10

CHAPTER 10 

They had been walking for about an hour, in a heavy silence punctuated only by an occasional sniffle from Majic, when Childman suddenly halted. Majic, who had been lagging behind the sorcerer, shuffling his feet and staring morosely at the ground instead of watching where he was going, slammed right into Childman's back. The older man grunted from the impact, and he turned slowly to glare at Majic.

"You should watch where you're going, boy," he snapped.

Majic sniffled again and wiped his nose on his sleeve. "Sorry, Master Childman," he mumbled, looking down at the ground. Without looking up, he asked, "Why are we stopping?"

Childman scowled at Majic again and commented in a flat, toneless voice, "We're here." He pointed and Majic leaned around the tall, dark sorcerer to look in the indicated direction. They had almost reached the top of a small hill, and, from where they stood, Majic could see its summit, which was covered in tall, dark green grass. A full, silvery-yellow moon hung high overhead, and a gentle breeze blew across his face, rustling through the grass and making it glimmer with a silvery hue. In the moon's soft light, he could see four stone towers surrounding a huge stone slab, which almost looked like an altar. The moon's rays slid across the stone altar and climbed up the farthest tower, and its stones, which were slightly wet, shimmered and glistened.

Majic gasped in awe at the beauty in front of him, momentarily forgetting why they had come all this way. "It's it's beautiful," he whispered.

Childman's short, harsh laugh brought Majic back to the present, instantly snapping him out of his thoughts. "Don't go forgetting why we're here, boy," he said, stressing the "boy" part of the sentence with just a hint of sarcasm.

Majic winced internally at the sound of the older sorcerer's voice. He could tell that Childman was mocking him, but he wasn't sure exactly why. What he did know was that, after the emotional hell he'd been through in the past few days, he really didn't feel like taking any more of Childman's crap. As the sorcerer turned to walk away, Majic bent quickly and grabbed up a handful of medium-sized rocks. Before he could talk himself out of this obviously fool-hardy course of action, Majic took aim and launched the first rock at the sorcerer's retreating back. He had always had very good aim, and, sure enough, the missile found its target, smacking squarely into the middle of Childman's head with a loud, satisfying smacking sound. The force from the blow pushed the sorcerer's head forward and caused him to trip and fall to one knee. As he stumbled, he dropped Orphen's body, which fell limply to the ground with a sickening thud and then rolled a few inches before coming to a stop near one of the stone towers. As Majic saw his master's body hit the ground, he immediately felt nauseous. In his impulsive fit of anger, he had completely forgotten that Childman was carrying it. Majic began to move forward to check on Childman, who was still on his hands and knees, shaking his head as if to clear it, but the rational part of his mind suddenly reasserted its control over him, and he found himself fighting the urge to run away and hide in the nearby woods.

He suddenly remembered a time when he and Orphen had had a fight about something --- he couldn't even remember now what had caused it, but, at the time, it had seemed so important. When Orphen had turned to walk away, Majic had launched a fireball at the young sorcerer's back. Majic could still remember how the ball had grown as it flew through the air, almost like it had a life of its own. He would later learn that it had been fueled by his own anger, but, at the time, he had been completely shocked and unprepared for the spell's reaction. Orphen had been oblivious until, at the last second, Majic had managed to find his voice and shout out a warning. The young sorcerer had turned just as the huge fire ball reached him, barely managing to throw up a shield to protect his body from Majic's attack. As it was, the force from the fire ball had catapulted him backward, smashing him into a tree. Ever since that day, Majic had struggled to keep his temper under control, and he had been successful --- until today.

He nervously edged backward slightly, toward the woods, as Childman began to stumble back onto his feet. Majic could remember that Orphen had been frighteningly angry after being hit by the flame ball. In his limited experience around sorcerers, he had discovered that they all seemed to have very short tempers, and he was guessing that Childman was probably no exception to that general rule. Majic swallowed hard, his mind racing to try to find some excuse or justification for his actions that might placate the older sorcerer. Finding none, he gulped nervously as Childman finally managed to stand up. Majic suddenly realized, almost as if discovering it for the first time, that Childman was really a lot bigger, and, probably, a lot stronger than Orphen. As Childman finally managed to stand fully upright, still shaking his head groggily, he towered over Majic, and the boy thought, almost absently, 'Oh, I am dead meat.'

As Childman turned toward him, Majic saw the anger flashing in the sorcerer's eyes. Majic backed away, grinning and holding his hands in front of him in what he hoped was a placating gesture. "I I I'm s sorry, Master Cchildman," he stammered, laughing nervously.

Instead of coming after him as he expected, Childman just turned away without saying a word. Silently, he moved to the nearest stone tower and gently turned Orphen's body over, as if checking it for injuries. Majic, taking hope from the fact that Childman didn't attack him, tentatively approached the older sorcerer and stood behind him, looking over his shoulder as he turned Orphen's body away from the tower's base, and gently brushed dirt off of the young sorcerer's face.

"I is he OK?" Majic asked, his voice barely a squeak. He frowned as he noticed a large, bleeding gash on Orphen's face, and he guessed that it must have been caused when the young sorcerer's body hit the tower.

"He's dead, boy. It's not like you can hurt him," Childman snapped irritably. He softly muttered a spell, and a blue light appeared under his hand. Slowly, as he chanted, the cut on Orphen's face stopped bleeding and began to close and heal. Without looking at Majic, he muttered, "A sorcerer can never strike out in anger, boy. You will only hurt those closest to you."

"I I know," Majic muttered. He felt ashamed, and stared at the ground, wiping his runny nose on the back of his sleeve.

Childman looked back over his shoulder at Majic. When he saw the shameful look on the boy's face, he felt his anger melt away. He could remember seeing that same look on Krylancelo's face many times. He almost felt as if it was a young Krylancelo standing there next to him, instead of Majic. His voice softened as he laughed and said, "You're just like him." He picked up Orphen's body and walked toward the stone altar, calling over his shoulder, "There's not much more time. Stay outside the towers' circle. It's too dangerous."

Majic retreated a safe distance away from the altar and surrounding stone towers and watched, awe-struck, as Childman laid Orphen's limp form on the stone altar. Taking up a position at one end, the sorcerer raised his arms over his head, toward the moon, and began to chant, softly at first, and then, louder and louder, until Majic could clearly hear the words of the spell, even though he didn't understand them. As the chant rose to a crescendo, Childman spread his upturned arms, and turned his face toward the moon. The soft, silver light seemed to form itself into a beam and shot straight down toward the altar and the two sorcerers within the circle of stone. The beam hit first one tower, then shot toward the second, then the third, then the fourth, forming a circle of light around Childman and Orphen. It shot into Childman, connecting him with the stone towers, and, then, it poured into Orphen's body, finally completing the circle of light. The light pulsed, as if it was alive. It slowly turned from silver to blue-white, and, as the spell ended, it slowly faded away. As the last of the light faded, Childman collapsed to his hands and knees.

"Master Childman!" Majic called. He darted forward, into the stone circle, to kneel next to the older sorcerer. "Master, are you all right?"

Childman nodded weakly. "Yes," he replied. "I'm I'm fine. Just a little tired."

Majic looked toward Orphen's body, which still lay on the altar. It didn't look any different to him, and he began to fear that the spell had failed. "Master Childman," he asked softly, "did did it work?"

Childman grunted as he pushed himself into a standing position, using Majic's shoulder for leverage, and replied, "I don't know. We'll have to wait and see."

****


	11. Chapter 11

CHAPTER 11 

Majic pushed the door open slightly and peered into the darkened room. It was very small, containing only one bed and a chair within its four plain, white walls. There was one window, directly across from the door and above the bed, but this portal was tightly shuttered against the sunlight outside. As a result, the room was dim, illuminated only by the soft, grayish light that leaked in around the shutters and the small shaft of light that came in through the partially open door. The light from the doorway slid across the floor, fell in between the chair and bed, and then ended its journey in the far corner of the room, where it landed on a small pile of blankets marking the spot where Majic had been sleeping for the past seven days. In the dim light, the boy could barely make out the two figures in the room --- one sleeping on the bed and the other sleeping sitting up in the chair.

Majic slipped into the room. He was carrying a tray of food, so he had to balance precariously on one leg to push the door closed with his foot. He bounced up and down slightly, trying to maintain his balance as he moved the door toward its resting place on the jamb, but, as he pushed it forward, he felt the tray shifting in his hands. Majic succeeded in shutting the door, but he could still feel the tray sliding out of his hands, and he bounced across the floor juggling the tray full of dishes and food. About halfway, he managed to regain his balance, and he continued across the room, on two feet now, frantically trying to keep the dishes from crashing to the floor. He gritted his teeth as he listened to them clinking together. It wasn't a loud sound, but, in the silence of the small room, it seemed almost deafening. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, his crazy trip across the room ended when he bumped against the wall across from the door and managed to get a firm grip on the tray. He sighed in relief when he realized that he wasn't going to drop it, and, suddenly exhausted from his uncontrolled dance across the room, he slid down the wall onto the floor, still holding the tray.

Majic looked quickly toward the bed and chair, and felt relieved to see that both Orphen and Childman were still asleep. He slid the tray forward so that it was on the ground near the chair. Once he had finished, Majic returned to his position, leaning against the wall. He glanced over at Orphen, who was sleeping on the bed. He could see the rise and fall of the older boy's chest and hear the soft, gentle sound of his breathing. He could hardly believe the young sorcerer was alive. He could still remember his master dying in his arms --- the sound of his breathing slowly stopping, the feeling of his heart beating slower and slower, until there was nothing. Majic felt a lump rising in his throat at the memory, and he quickly wiped away the tears that suddenly appeared in his eyes. Somehow, Childman's spell had poured life back into Orphen's dead body. That had been seven days ago, and Orphen had not yet awakened.

Majic looked over at Childman. The older sorcerer was asleep, sitting, slumped over slightly with his legs crossed, in the chair next to Orphen's bed. His arms were crossed in front of him, and his head rested on his chest. Majic could see his hair moving slightly in time to the steady rhythm of his breathing. The boy frowned slightly as he watched Childman sleeping.

Things were far from normal with the older sorcerer. Childman had been exhausted after casting the spell seven days ago. He had managed to help Majic carry Orphen to the small house that had become their resting place, explaining to the bewildered boy that the cottage was his --- a place he kept as a retreat from the Tower, and, possibly, the only place the Tower's Council knew nothing about. But, he had collapsed almost immediately upon entering the dwelling. Childman had slept for the first three days after casting the spell, and, once he awakened, he had remained at Orphen's side, dozing off and on in the hard, wooden chair next to the bed. Majic had begged Childman to rest, but the older sorcerer had curtly replied that he was fine and dismissed Majic with a wave of his hand. Majic had recognized the look in Childman's eyes. It was the same look Orphen got when he had set his mind on something, and the boy had known it was useless to argue or try to reason with him. Majic had immediately realized that he would never convince the older sorcerer to leave Orphen's side. Trying to do so would have just been a waste of time. During this journey, he had seen proof of Childman's devotion to Orphen, but he still didn't understand it. Wasn't this the same man who had been pursuing them for months --- who had been trying to kill Orphen for five years ever since the young sorcerer had left the Tower of Fang? Why would such a man go to such lengths to save the very person he was trying to destroy? Wouldn't it have been easier for Childman to just let Orphen die? All of these questions crowded into Majic's brain. He had decided that he would probably never understand Childman, but he had learned enough about the older sorcerer to realize that he was just like Orphen. And, Majic knew enough about his own master to know that he would probably never get any answers to his questions. Majic had quickly learned that Orphen always had a reason for the things he did, no matter how foolhardy his actions seemed, but the boy had also learned that it was useless to question the young sorcerer. Orphen always kept his reasons and motivations to himself. It seemed that the same was true for Childman.

"Don't just sit there staring at me, boy. Pour some of the tea."

Majic jumped involuntarily at the sound of Childman's voice. "Y yes, M master," he stammered as he scooted across the small distance separating him from the tray. He poured the tea and handed the cup to Childman. His hands were shaking, and it caused some of the hot liquid to slosh out of the cup and onto the sorcerer's hand. Childman winced at the burning sensation, but he took the cup without saying a word. "S sorry, M master," Majic muttered.

Childman blew on the hot tea to cool it and then took a sip. The quiet slurping sound filled the room for a moment. He peered over the cup's rim and regarded Majic silently for a moment before commenting, "You're afraid of me, aren't you, boy?"

Majic couldn't meet the sorcerer's steady gaze, so he looked away, down at the floor, and muttered, "Yes."

Childman laughed softly and took another sip of tea as he replied, "There's no shame in being afraid, boy." He turned his attention back toward the figure sleeping on the bed and continued, "That's something Krylancelo never learned. If he had, we wouldn't be here now."

Majic knew he shouldn't even bother responding to Childman's comment, but he felt anger boiling up inside him. If Childman really was like his own master, the boy knew that he wouldn't be able to say anything to change the older sorcerer's opinion, but he still felt compelled to defend Orphen. "That's not true!" he snapped, jumping to his feet, his fists clenched in anger. As the words left his mouth, he realized that his voice was more shrill and louder than he had intended, and he looked at the ground and muttered, in a softer tone, "You you think you know it all. But, you don't know anything, Master." He looked toward Orphen's still body, "You don't know anything about him."

Childman had been surprised at Majic's outburst. Normally, he found this boy to be too quiet and mousy for his tastes, and he had begun to think that Majic had no spirit at all. But this this was a refreshing change. If the boy really was like this normally, he could almost understand why Krylancelo had taken Majic under his wing. He smiled into his cup and replied, "Well, then. Why don't you explain it to me?"

Majic sat back down in his spot on the floor and leaned back against the wall, his knees drawn up against his chest, and his arms resting across his knees. "He Master is afraid. A lot, I think, but he can't show it. He just keeps it hidden inside --- I think because of me and Cleao. He always has to protect us, so he doesn't let fear stop him from doing what he has to do. I know that his actions seem foolish sometimes --- like he doesn't have any kind of plan, or like he hasn't even thought things through. But, he always has reasons for doing the things he does. He just doesn't show it. He keeps everything to himself." Majic sighed, and laid his forehead against his knees. When he continued, his voice was muffled, but Childman could hear that he was crying. "As for being here," Majic said softly, "That's not his fault. It's it's mine. He didn't even want us to go into that cave, but I I said he was just being silly. We needed water to cook, and it was the closest source. He he wouldn't even follow us in. He just stood at the entrance and yelled at us to to get out. I I was the one who who woke that Morph thing up when I touched the water. He he did it to save me. That thing was going to kill me, and Master he he fought it to save me." Majic's voice dissolved into loud, choking sobs as he remembered looking back as he ran from the cavern and seeing the look of terror in Orphen's eyes. He would never forget that look --- not even if he lived for a hundred years.

Childman sat for a moment, the cup of tea resting against his lips, as he quietly considered what Majic had just told him. "I see," he finally said, taking another sip, "that seems most unlike him. The Krylancelo I knew was a foolhardy boy, and he has shown me nothing in the past five years that would have made me change my mind. But, what you have just told me. Now, that's interesting. Interesting, indeed. I wouldn't have expected it. Not from someone as foolhardy, stubborn, and selfish as him. But, even so even if he did fight that creature for your sake, boy, it was still foolhardy, and what good did it do? He saved you and that irritating girl, but what about the others that creature will feed upon now that it's free? It's just as it has been his whole life. Someone has always had to come along behind him and fix his messes. First Azalie, and, now that she's gone, I'm the one who will have to do it."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Majic snapped. "Maybe he was like that when he was at the Tower with you, but not any more. It's been five years since you were with him. That's a long time, and things change. There's no "mess" to fix. There never has been. He defeated that Morph thing. He killed it. There's nothing for you to do. If you hated picking up his messes so much, why did you even come when he called? Why didn't you just let him die and leave it at that? Wouldn't that solve all of your problems? Isn't that what you've been trying to do all along --- destroy him so that he can't save Azalie? That's all you've wanted --- to save yourself and your precious Tower of Fang from embarrassment by destroying my master!"

Childman leaned forward, grabbing Majic's arm in a vise-like grip that made the boy cringe, and hissed angrily. "What do you mean, boy? When you say he "killed" it? That creature. It was made by the Heavenly Ones, and even they couldn't control it. That's why they sealed it away in the mountain tunnel. There's no way he could defeat it." His voice lowered and he released Majic's arm when he saw the way the boy cringed away from him in fear.

"Well, he did," Majic replied in a quiet voice, rubbing his arm. "He destroyed it. I saw the burned skeleton. The whole cavern was burned, and even all of the water had burned away." Majic looked over at Orphen, who was still asleep, despite all the noise he and Childman were making. He muttered, "I don't know how he did it, though. That creature it seemed seemed to suck his power as if it was feeding off of him. So, that means he didn't have all of his power when he fought it, but, still, he killed it. I just don't know how."

Childman also looked toward Orphen's sleeping figure. He stood and stretched to ease the cramped muscles in his back. "I'm getting too old to sit for days on end in a hard chair like that," he commented absently. He walked over to the bed and gently placed his hand on Orphen's head. "You've grown strong, Krylancelo. So much stronger than I'd ever imagined," he said, smiling. Majic was surprised at Childman's reaction. It almost seemed like the older sorcerer was proud of his pupil. He turned to face Majic, still smiling, and continued, "I could never harm him, you know. Or Azalie." As if that was the end of his explanation, Childman picked up the tray Majic had just brought in, and swiftly carried it from the room.

Majic watched, open-mouthed, as Childman left the room. "What the hell does that mean?" he asked, turning to look at Orphen. He sighed and shook his head, commenting to himself, "Oh, yeah. Like you're gonna be any help, Sleeping Beauty." He looked toward the door, which was still open. Just beyond it, he could see most of the outer room. Half of a small wooden table, which sat in the room's center, was visible through the doorway, and Majic could see Childman setting the tray down and pulling up a chair so that he could enjoy his meal. The boy sighed again and mumbled, "Guess I'll just have to go and ask him myself." He paused for a moment and, placing his hand on Orphen's head, he leaned forward and whispered into the young sorcerer's ear, "Please wake up soon, Master. I miss you."

"So," Majic said, as he pulled the other wooden chair up to the little table so that he sat across from Childman, "what did you mean?"

Childman just gave Majic a blank look, as if he didn't understand what the boy was talking about, and continued to spread butter on the slice of bread he held in his hand. Slowly, still without saying a word, he added jam to the bread and began to eat. He paused for a moment, and Majic leaned forward, thinking that the older sorcerer was finally going to answer his question, but Childman only gave the boy a questioning look and reached for the teapot to pour a second cup of tea.

Majic couldn't stand it any longer. He stood up and banged his fists on the table, which made the dishes clatter and clink together. "I can't take it any more! You're just like him!" he yelled, jerking his thumb over his shoulder, in the direction of the inner room. "Always with the mysterious, sorcerer mumbo-jumbo! Cleao is right! It's all just a bunch of crap to hide the fact that neither of you are able to even give one straight answer when you're asked a question! Is it because you don't know the answer, or do you just like to play with our minds? Doesn't matter! Either way, it's a pretty crappy way to act!" His anger spent, Majic sank back into his chair and slumped onto the table, his head resting on his crossed arms. "I don't even know why I bother," he mumbled.

Childman's laughter drowned out Majic's words. The boy looked up, shocked, to see the most powerful sorcerer of the Tower of Fang drop his bread and fork and lean back in his chair, laughing. His laughter was warm and full, like the sound of a church bell ringing, and Majic once again found himself thinking, in amazement, that the older sorcerer sounded just like Orphen. If he had closed his eyes, he would have been able to picture his own master sitting across from him, laughing at some joke or some stupid thing he or Cleao had said or done. Majic couldn't help but smile at the memories that came flooding back to him, but his smile slowly faded as he remembered that Orphen was still unconscious in the other room, as he had been for the past seven days, and that, if he did awaken, Childman would likely capture him and return him to the Tower of Fang.

"You don't have to worry, boy," Childman said softly as his laughter died away. "I have no intention of taking Krylancelo back to the Tower when he awakes." He smiled at Majic's shocked, questioning look. "I can tell what you're thinking, boy. You think I've only saved him so that I can return him to the Tower to face whatever punishment the Council desires to visit upon him," he said softly. Majic noticed, with curiosity, that Childman practically choked on the words "the Council". He said them like they left a bad taste in his mouth. He placed his fork on his plate with a decisive clink and looked directly into Majic's eyes. "You are so much like him. Impatient. Foolhardy. Reckless. Like the Krylancelo I remember. Like the boy I raised," he commented. Majic was surprised at the warm glow he saw in the sorcerer's eyes.

"You you care about him, don't you?" Majic commented in a surprised, shocked tone.

Childman merely shrugged in response to Majic's question and returned to eating his bread and sipping his tea.

"But," Majic stammered, almost at a loss for words, "You you've been ch chasing us. All this time you've been after my master. I I don't understand."

"If you expect to understand everything in this life, boy, you'll only go through the rest of your days disappointed and dissatisfied," Childman mumbled around a mouthful of bread and tea.

"Yeah," Majic replied, almost to himself, "That's what Master always tells me."

Childman regarded the boy for a moment, one eyebrow cocked in a questioning look, "So, he did listen to me," he muttered, turning to glance quickly toward the inner room, where the young sorcerer slept. "I never would have thought it," he continued. He shrugged and turned back to look at Majic. "Being around you and even that irritating girl has shown me things. Things I wouldn't have known otherwise about Krylancelo," he muttered absently. It was as if he was talking to himself, even though Majic heard each and every word. He shook his head slightly and gave Majic a strange look, as if he had just realized that the boy was still in the room with him. "Very well," he said, placing the teacup on the table with a small little clank, as if he had just come to a decision. "Very well," he repeated, "I'll tell you, then. I know Krylancelo would never believe me. He's too stubborn. But, you deserve to know the truth, whether you choose to believe it or not." He pushed the plate of half-eaten food away from him before continuing, "Yes. The Tower the Council ordered me to pursue them to kill them to preserve the Tower's reputation. Yes. I have pursued them both pursued all of you. This you know. What you do not know is why. There are many on the Tower's faculty who would distinguish themselves and attempt to take my place as Headmaster by destroying Azalie and Krylancelo to curry favor with the Council. But, instead, I went to the Council and volunteered for the assignment. They gave it to me so that I could save face. Because Azalie and Krylancelo were my students, the shame they brought to the Tower was, in the Council's opinion, visited upon me. I accepted their orders, but I have never had any intention of carrying them out. Had it been anyone but me, Krylancelo would already be dead. Azalie, even in her human form, was very powerful. As the dragon, she probably would have been able to withstand their attacks, but" His voice trailed off, and he leaned his head onto his open palm. There was a far-away look in his eyes, as he remembered the painful memories from those days. The days after Azalie first transformed into the magical beast and Krylancelo first ran away from the Tower had been the darkest time in his life. In the blink of an eye, all he had worked for --- his power, his position as headmaster at the Tower of Fang --- was at risk. But, worse than that, Azalie and Krylancelo --- the woman he had come to love and the boy he had raised --- both seemed lost to him.

"Master?" Majic prompted, seeing that the older sorcerer was lost in thought. He hated to interrupt Childman's memories, but he really wanted to hear the rest of the sorcerer's story.

"I'm sorry," Childman replied, as Majic's voice dragged him back into the present. "Bad memories. Nothing but bad memories from those days. Anyhow, as I was saying, Krylancelo wouldn't have been able to survive. He was such a small boy when he left, and his training wasn't complete. Had any of the others gone after him, your master would be dead now. I agreed to pursue him because it was the only way I had left to protect him from the Tower. As long as they believed I would bring him back, the Council wouldn't trouble themselves further with him."

"Protect him?" Majic asked.

Childman nodded in response. "Yes. He doesn't know it, but I've watched over him, as well as I could, ever since he left me. I haven't always been able to keep him out of trouble, but the ruse worked long enough for him to complete his training and gain full control of his powers."

"So, you were never trying to kill him? To kill Azalie?" Majic asked.

Childman sighed and rose from the table. He returned to the inner room's doorway and stood, leaning on the doorframe watching Orphen sleep. "Krylancelo has certainly chosen a dim-witted pupil," he said softly. "I could never harm him. I raised him, boy. Azalie I loved her, but she always had a darkness about her a thirst for magic a hunger for power. She always wanted to have more power than anyone else. That was what drove her to succeed in her studies, and, ultimately, to use the Sword of Baltanders to transform herself into the dragon. It may yet be her downfall. I have the power to save her, but, I'm afraid the darkness in her soul has grown too strong. If so, she is beyond anyone's help, and I will have to destroy her. But, Krylancelo he was different. The most gifted student I'd ever seen, but so timid and afraid of his own powers. I can see that's changed. But, there was never any darkness about him. Innocent compassionate and beautiful." Childman looked down at Majic, who had come to stand next to him in the doorway, and said, "I can see that some things never change." He smiled and, placing his hand on Majic's head, he gently ruffled the boy's hair, just as Orphen always did. Majic felt a lump rise in his throat and tears come to his eyes at the familiar gesture. Childman pulled his hand away when he saw the boy's reaction. "I'm sorry. I I didn't mean to upset you."

Majic shrugged, and replied, "It's OK. It's just that Master he always does that. It always makes me feel so stupid. Like I'm just some dumb little kid. I always thought I hated it, but, maybe, from now on well, maybe I'll feel differently."

Childman turned his attention back to the still figure on the bed. "I could never hurt Krylancelo," he said softly, "No matter what has passed or will pass between us, I love him --- as if he was my very own son."

Majic grabbed the sleeve of Childman's robe. "Will will my master will he be OK?"

Childman wanted to look away from the fear and the pleading expression in the boy's eyes. He knew that Majic desperately wanted reassurance. The boy only wanted him to say that Orphen would recover, but he knew he couldn't lie. He looked back to the figure on the bed and replied, "I don't know, boy. I've done all that I can. The spell that I cast transferred some of my life force to him. It was enough to bring him back, but I don't know if he'll ever wake up. That's up to him. He's strong, but all we can do is wait."

****


	12. Chapter 12

CHAPTER 12 

Majic woke as the morning sun slanted through a crack in the shutters and into his eyes. As he struggled to come awake, he could hear the sounds of someone moving around in the outer room. He glanced toward the door, and, through bleary, sleep-filled eyes, he could see that it was open just slightly --- a tiny crack that allowed the sound of someone making breakfast to seep into the room. As had become his habit during their time here, Majic looked toward the bed, intending to check on Orphen before rising to face the day. Suddenly, the boy was wide-awake. He jumped to his feet, and glanced around the room in a panic. For the first time in ten days, the bed and chair were both empty. Majic bolted for the door and pushed it open. It swung open wildly and hit the wall with a loud slam, startling Cleao, who was busy at the fire, making breakfast.

She whirled around at the loud cracking sound. She had been cooking eggs, but the sudden, loud noise made her jump and caused her to drop the skillet she had been holding, spilling eggs all over the floor. "MAJIC!!" she yelled angrily, immediately dropping to the floor to clean up the mess. "What the hell are you doing? You scared the living daylights out of me! What's wrong?"

Majic skidded to a halt and stood, dumfounded, in the doorway to the inner room. His sleepy mind was having a lot of trouble putting everything together. He was a bit fuzzy from just waking up, but he could have sworn they had left Cleao in a nearby town. What was she doing here? "C cleao?" he stammered, "Wh what are you doing here? H how did you?"

"Oh, well, nice to see you, too, Magic Boy," she muttered. When she looked up from cleaning up the spilled eggs and saw the confused look on Majic's face, she smiled and continued in a softer tone, "Childman brought me here last night. You were asleep when I got here. He didn't want to wake you."

"Childman?" Majic asked.

Cleao nodded. "He left. Early this morning."

"He left?" Majic asked. "Why?"

Cleao shrugged. "Who knows? Sorcerers. They're all the same. Never tell anyone what they're thinking or why they do anything. He just said he wasn't needed here any more. And, then, he disappeared. Literally. Oooh. I hate that damn disappearing trick. I mean, he's there and then, he's not. I'm glad Orphen doesn't do it that much. I don't think I could take it."

Majic stared at her. She had gone back to picking up the spilled eggs, and he knew she was, basically talking to herself now. He might as well not have even been in the room. Majic dropped to his knees and grabbed both of her arms, physically jerking her out of her monologue. "Cleao!" he hissed, shaking her. "What about Master? He's not there. He didn't " His voice trailed off as a lump rose in his throat, making it impossible to talk.

"Didn't I tell you?" Cleao asked, looking at Majic absently. "He woke up last night. That's why Childman came to get me." She pointed toward the open door of the little house. Majic knew, even though he couldn't see it, that a lazy, slow-moving river meandered through the woods a short distance away. "He's at the river. He said he wanted to clean up before breakfast."

Majic sighed. He had never felt so relieved in his whole life. "Cleao," he said, calmly, "did anyone ever tell you what a pain in the ass you are?"

She laughed, happy at the success of her little practical joke. "You are so funny when you're nervous, Majic," she giggled. "I'm so glad you missed me."

Majic bolted for the door, calling over his shoulder as he ran, "Oh, you'll never know how much!" He could hear Cleao's laughter behind him as he ran toward the river.

***********************************************************

It only took Majic a few minutes to reach the river. It wasn't far from the cottage, but it was on the other side of a small hill, which hid it from the house, and vice versa. As he topped the hill between the house and river, Majic paused. He had to shield his eyes from the sun's light. The early morning sun had just hit the slow moving water, making it shimmer and sparkle with a blinding white light. Once his eyes had adjusted to the brightness, Majic scanned the river below him. He smiled when he finally saw Orphen. The young sorcerer had waded into the river and stood, waist deep in the cool, clear water. His back was to Majic, and he was splashing water up over his head and bare torso. He looked fine a little thinner, perhaps, but, otherwise, fine. Majic frowned as he noticed the scars crisscrossing Orphen's back. Even from this distance, he could see them, lacing across and along the young sorcerer's back and shoulders --- the souvenirs left from his fight with Morph. Majic knew there was a corresponding set on his master's chest.

"MASTER!!" Majic called.

When Orphen turned around and, smiling, waved to him, Majic waved back and ran down the hill. Orphen moved toward the river's bank, but Majic was faster. He reached the river and splashed right in. When he was a few inches away from the young sorcerer, he launched himself through the air and into Orphen's open arms. Orphen caught him, but the force of Majic's weight caused him to tumble backwards, and they both fell. They laughed as they rolled over and over in the water, a tangle of arms and legs, and finally came to rest on a shallow shelf a little ways away from the bank. Majic ended up sitting on top of Orphen, and he smiled as he looked down at his master, who was sputtering, coughing, and choking on the water he had swallowed. 

"All right, Majic," Orphen snapped. He shook water out of his hair and tried to sound stern and angry, which was impossible because he couldn't stop smiling. He finally gave up on his "stern and angry master act" and whined, "Come on, get offa me. It hurts, and I can't breathe."

"Oh!" Majic exclaimed, as he scrambled off of Orphen's chest. "I'm sorry. I didn't I didn't hurt you, did I?"

He looked so forlorn that Orphen couldn't keep from laughing. "No," he chuckled, reaching over to gently ruffle Majic's hair. "I'm OK. A little tired, still, but alive. Guess that's something."

Majic smiled and, impulsively, hugged his master. "Oh, Master. That's that's everything. I thought I thought I'd never see you again." He felt tears come to his eyes as he remembered how scared he had been. "I I was so scared."

Majic was shocked when Orphen hugged him back. "I know, Majic," he whispered, burying his face in the boy's wet hair. "I I never meant for you and Cleao I didn't want you to go through that. I I was scared, too. All I could think about was what would happen to you two if I was gone. That's why I called him Childman. That's why I called Childman. I thought he would take care of you. I never woulda thought he'd actually save me."

"Master," Majic said, pulling away from Orphen, "Childman he " he paused, not sure if he should continue with what he wanted to say. He was afraid it would make Orphen angry.

"He what, Majic?" Orphen asked. He cocked his head and raised a questioning eyebrow at Majic as the boy nervously shifted back and forth.

"Well ," Majic said nervously, "It's just that that I think well, maybe Childman isn't the way you you know think he is. I mean he he didn't seem all that bad to me." He tensed, readying himself for Orphen's explosion of anger. He had seen his master's temper often enough to know that it wouldn't be pretty.

Much to Majic's surprise, Orphen just paused, as if he was thinking about what the boy had just said. "Yeah," he said slowly, "You just might be right, Majic. I don't remember a lot the whole time I was sick, it was pretty much just one big blur. But, I remember waking up, and there was so much pain and it was hard to breathe. But, Master he was there. I was in his arms, and I don't know it was it was like when I was little and I'd get sick Childman he would sit up with me all night and I knew somehow that it'd all be OK." He laughed, as if he was embarrassed at revealing too much, and said, quickly, "Guess that sounds pretty stupid, huh?"

"No, Master," Majic replied, "It doesn't sound stupid at all. Master Childman he he cares about you. I know it's hard for you to accept, but we all do. We all care about you. You are OK, aren't you?"

Orphen nodded. "Yeah. My power is still gone. Before he left, Master told me that it would return, but it would take a while. So, for the time being, guess I'm just an ordinary guy. Hope that's OK."

Majic smiled. "At this point, I think Cleao and I will both take whatever we can get." He stood up, still smiling, and held out his hand to the young sorcerer as he said, "Besides, you're far from ordinary. You're probably the skinniest guy I've ever seen. Geez! I can even see all of your ribs!"

Orphen laughed and took the hand Majic offered him. He groaned as the boy pulled him to his feet, and said, rubbing his ribs, "Which are still broken, by the way. You'd think, if Master really cared, he'd have fixed that. As for being too skinny, I have a feeling Cleao has decided to dedicate her every waking moment to fixing that. She was cooking a huge breakfast when I left."

"Yeah, well," Majic replied as they sloshed their way out of the river and up onto the grassy bank. "Childman did bring you back from the dead, you know. You can't expect him to fix every little scrape and bruise. And, um about those eggs"

Orphen stopped and gave Majic a shocked, wide-eyed look, "Majic, you didn't you didn't ruin Cleao's breakfast, did you?"

Majic blushed and looked away. "It was an accident," he mumbled. They were about halfway up the hill that would lead them back to the little house when Orphen suddenly collapsed onto the grassy slope. "Master!" Majic exclaimed, dropping to one knee next to the young sorcerer, "are you sick? Are you OK? What's wrong?"

Orphen fell back against the grass and stared up at the sky. "Majic," he said, "I'm not a well man. Couldn't you have managed to not piss off Cleao for at least one day?"

Majic laughed, but the sound died in his throat as he thought about how scary Cleao was when she was mad. He flopped down onto the ground next to Orphen, lying on his back and resting his head on his arms. "Well," he replied in a soft voice that was almost a mumble, "it really was an accident. How long do you think we'll have to wait before we can go in there?"

Orphen cocked his head slightly to the side. He could still hear the girl yelling about how stupid he and Majic were. Her words were punctuated by the auditory exclamation point caused by the occasional clang of a skillet or pot hitting a wall or door. He sighed, and closed his eyes as he enjoyed the warm morning sun shining down on his bare chest and the warm breeze that gently blew through his hair. On the verge of sleep, he mumbled, "With that girl, who knows? She's so irritating. And, I was hungry, too." Within moments, he was fast asleep.

Majic rose slightly, and, leaning on one elbow, watched his master sleeping. His breathing was soft and even, and Majic could see his chest rising and falling with each breath. For the first time in a long time, he truly believed that Orphen would recover. He laughed as he heard Cleao throw another pan and flopped back down onto the warm, sweet-smelling grass. He smiled and, as he closed his eyes, muttered, "Finally everything's back to normal." 

****


End file.
